Before we reached the moon, NASA engineers spent years fighting over how to...

https://mag-wiki.win/index.php/Is_Docking_Actually_Worth_the_Headache%3F_Re-evaluating_Lunar_and_Mars_Mission_Architecture

Before we reached the moon, NASA engineers spent years fighting over how to actually get there. Should they build one giant rocket or master the high-stakes dance of docking in orbit? By 1962, the math finally forced their hands