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After launching from Kennedy Space Center, controllers in Houston, Texas took over the operation of the Apollo missions — keeping a watchful eye on the crew and vehicle as it made the nearly quarter-million mile trip to the moon.

One of those flight controllers was Gerry Griffin. We spoke about the role controllers played during the Apollo program and how the team handled the challenges and triumphs of the first moon missions — including the famous “SCE to AUX” fix that saved Apollo 12.