to reduce friction of the sling on the launch track, the track should have a smooth surface. it was in los angeles' century city district, across the street from century plaza hotel. the most impressive single element is a brick and concrete tunnel  long, from which openings lead to the locations of other parts of the once-extensive complex. ginger wrote his book had two purposes: first, getting "the facts straight" in order to correct "many mistakes in previous accounts of the episodes," believing his book "comes much closer than do those accounts to telling what actually occurred." 