 Almost every senior manager at NASA agreed with this new mission , citing both confidence in the hardware and personnel , and the potential for a significant morale boost provided by a circumlunar flight . The only person who needed some convincing was James E. Webb , the NASA administrator . With the rest of his agency in support of the new mission , Webb eventually approved the mission change . The mission was officially changed from a " D " mission to a " C @-@ Prime " lunar @-@ orbit mission , but was still referred to in press releases as an Earth @-@ orbit mission at Webb 's direction . No public announcement was made about the change in mission until November 12 , three weeks after Apollo 7 's successful Earth @-@ orbit mission and less than 40 days before launch . 
