 In the 1990s, though KSC was not performing the hands-on ELV work, engineers still maintained an understanding of ELVs and had contracts allowing them insight in the vehicles so they could provide knowledgeable oversight.KSC also worked on ELV research and analysis and the contractors were able to utilize KSC personnel as a resource for technical issues.KSC, with the payload and launch vehicle industries, developed advances in automation of the ELV launch and ground operations to enable competitiveness of U.S. rockets against the global market.