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

https://mighty-wiki.win/index.php/Beyond_the_Hype:_How_to_Write_Skeptical_Science_Without_Being_a_Cynic

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