We didn't have the technology? I've got a bridge to sell you. -- The Brooklyn Bridge.
We didn't have the technology to build this bridge, either. But we built it. Men died, too.
They died from what they called "caisson disease". We recognize it now as "the bends". At the pressure they were working, nitrogen dissolved in the blood. When they returned to the surface, nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream caused severe pain and physical damage.
Two things happened. We learned more about working at depth.
And the bridge got built.
I'm familiar with the bends - my brother was into underwater cave diving when he was young. And a friend did nondestructive testing on ships. The "bends" are very real. A the Brooklyn Bridge wan an engineering marvel - no doubt about it. As was the space program. But I still don't believe we landed on the moon.