Abstract: As a milestone in space exploration, the Apollo Program left a multifaceted legacy in technology, management, and scientific culture. In terms of technological paths, critical innovations such as the Saturn V F-1 engine’s thrust capacity, the Apollo Guidance Computer’s real-time fault tolerance, and closed-loop life support systems laid the groundwork for modern aerospace. In terms of system management, the Program demonstrated a four-tier management structure to realize the dynamic balance of “centralized decision-making and decentralized execution” and the exchange and innovation of Qian Xuesen’s engineering cybernetics on Apollo system management mode. In terms of scientific and technological culture, it fostered the cultural inheritance mechanism in the training of talents with the “practice-oriented mentorship model” and in forming self-sustained innovation through matrix organizational change. This study deepens the theoretical insights into the interaction between technological innovation and organizational management, expands the understanding of cross-cultural adaptation in complex engineering management paradigm, enriches the theories on the intergenerational and cross-disciplinary diffusion of technological heritage, and offers some theoretical and practical implications for China’s aerospace strategies.

Key Words: Apollo Program; Scientific and technological heritage; Technological innovation; Engineering management