It’s tempting to view the moon race as a straight line, but the 1962 propulsion...

https://www.last-bookmarks.win/in-1962-nasa-engineers-debated-the-merits-of-nuclear-chemical-and-electric

It’s tempting to view the moon race as a straight line, but the 1962 propulsion debate was a messy tug-of-war. Engineers fought over whether to trust nuclear, chemical, or electric engines, and nobody wanted to yield