Apollo 11: How decision making relied on the 'lowest level'

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The flight controllers tracked and monitored the spacecraft through every second of the moon landing mission. They passed information to the crew and were ready to fix problems as they arose. Rather than direct problems at a senior level, they relied heavily on the expertise of the back-room advisers who had specific knowledge of the issues. 'We didn't make decisions at the highest level - we shoved them down to the lowest level. Everyone had their piece of the pie and we didn't share it too much. You make decisions at the lowest level, where people know what they're doing'. Gene Kranz, NASA flight director Photo: Director Lieutenant General Samuel C. Phillips monitors pre-launch activities for Apollo 11 Credit: Nasa