<P> A cylindrical Service Module (SM) supported the Command Module, with a service propulsion engine and an RCS with propellants, and a fuel cell power generation system with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen reactants . A high - gain S - band antenna was used for long - distance communications on the lunar flights . On the extended lunar missions, an orbital scientific instrument package was carried . The Service Module was discarded just before re-entry . The module was 24.6 feet (7.5 m) long and 12.83 feet (3.91 m) in diameter . The initial lunar flight version weighed approximately 51,300 pounds (23,300 kg) fully fueled, while a later version designed to carry a lunar orbit scientific instrument package weighed just over 54,000 pounds (24,000 kg). </P> <P> North American Aviation won the contract to build the CSM, and also the second stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle for NASA . Because the CSM design was started early before the selection of lunar orbit rendezvous, the service propulsion engine was sized to lift the CSM off the Moon, and thus was oversized to about twice the thrust required for translunar flight . Also, there was no provision for docking with the Lunar Module . A 1964 program definition study concluded that the initial design should be continued as Block I which would be used for early testing, while Block II, the actual lunar spacecraft, would incorporate the docking equipment and take advantage of the lessons learned in Block I development . </P> <P> The Lunar Module (LM) was designed to descend from lunar orbit to land two astronauts on the Moon and take them back to orbit to rendezvous with the Command Module . Not designed to fly through the Earth's atmosphere or return to Earth, its fuselage was designed totally without aerodynamic considerations, and was of an extremely lightweight construction . It consisted of separate descent and ascent stages, each with its own engine . The descent stage contained storage for the descent propellant, surface stay consumables, and surface exploration equipment . The ascent stage contained the crew cabin, ascent propellant, and a reaction control system . The initial LM model weighed approximately 33,300 pounds (15,100 kg), and allowed surface stays up to around 34 hours . An Extended Lunar Module weighed over 36,200 pounds (16,400 kg), and allowed surface stays of over 3 days . The contract for design and construction of the Lunar Module was awarded to Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, and the project was overseen by Thomas J. Kelly . </P> <P> Before the Apollo program began, Wernher von Braun and his team of rocket engineers had started work on plans for very large launch vehicles, the Saturn series, and the even larger Nova series . In the midst of these plans, von Braun was transferred from the Army to NASA, and made Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center . The initial direct ascent plan to send the three - man Apollo Command / Service Module directly to the lunar surface, on top of a large descent rocket stage, would require a Nova - class launcher, with a lunar payload capability of over 180,000 pounds (82,000 kg). The June 11, 1962, decision to use lunar orbit rendezvous enabled the Saturn V to replace the Nova, and the MSFC proceeded to develop the Saturn rocket family for Apollo . </P>

What war was taking place while the astronauts were getting famous for the apollo missions