Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in ... - The Black Vault

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Project Apollo: Americans to the Moon
c. Launch a circumlunar photographic satellite with a recoverable
package to obtain high quality photographs of the lunar surface in the
area of interest.
d. Expect the information obtained from the manned lunar orbit
reconnaissance missions to be the most reliable and after comparing it
with the data obtained from all other sources select several landing sites
for the first Apollo manned lunar landing missions.
[signed]
Ted H. Skopinski
Asst. Head, Trajectory Analysis Section
Copies to:
J.P. Mayer
M.V. Jenkins
P.F. Weyers, Apollo Project Office
R.O. Piland, Apollo Project Office
C.C. Johnson, Apollo Project Office
O.E. Maynard, Spacecraft Int. Branch
J.E. Dornbach, Space Physics Div.
Document II-25
Document Title: Memorandum to Administrator from Robert C. Seamans, Jr.,
Associate Administrator, “Location of Mission Control Center,” 10 July 1962.
Source: NASA Historical Reference Collection, History Division, NASA
Headquarters, Washington, DC.
Although the decision to locate a new Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas had
been made in September 1961, it was not decided at that time whether to move the Mission
Control Center to Houston or to keep it close to the launch site in Florida, as was being done
for Project Mercury. This memorandum records the reasoning behind the decision to move the
Mission Control Center to Houston.
MEMORANDUM for Administrator
Subject: Location of Mission Control Center
1. One of the facilities for which NASA has required funds in our FY
1963 Budget Request is the Mission Control Center. The Mission
Control Center would be use to control Gemini and Apollo operations
in a similar manner to the control of Mercury operations by the
Mercury Control Center. In the FY1963 Budget Request, the Mission
Control Center is listed in the section titled “Various Locations”.