Go behind the scenes with some engineers who worked on the Apollo program as they recount the making of the lunar module.

“The Apollo program was set up as an end game to get men on the Moon and return them safely. But to get there you have to learn to walk before you can run,” recalls Sam Koeppel, technical editor, Lunar Module, Grumman. What were the preliminary things and projects involved in doing that? Thousands of engineers worked on the Apollo program. In this video, go behind the scenes with some of them as they recount the making of the lunar module.

When President John F. Kennedy announced in 1961 his goal of sending a man to the moon, the United States had accomplished exactly 15 minutes of human spaceflight. America’s space program had already absorbed several high-profile embarrassments and the Soviet Union was winning the “space race.” Many thought that the president’s incredibly challenging deadline of a decade was setting America up for another humbling loss.

America’s political/Cold War fortunes were now in the hands of its top engineers. At the moment of Kennedy’s announcement, the technology, infrastructure, hardware, and technical workforce needed to achieve this goal did not yet exist!

The Apollo space program was, of course, a tremendous success—thanks to the 400,000 engineers, scientists, and technicians from more than 20,000 companies and universities who worked on the program. They overcame enormous technological challenges with creativity, innovation, and persistence. Their decisions and designs were sometimes risky, but always well-conceived and, on occasion, elegantly simple.

Designing the space hardware was only one part of the overall Apollo team. Thousands of engineers were involved in launch processing and monitoring the flights. In an era when computer systems were primitive compared to what we have today, constant communication between the astronauts and an army of engineers in Houston was critical to ensure the incredible success of the Apollo 11 mission.

Because of this combination of engineering foresight, fortitude, and teamwork, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon on July 20, 1969. Not only was it a giant leap for mankind, it also established the U.S. as the world’s most technologically advanced country.