Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 08-23-2011 09:49 PM               

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Has anyone heard any NASA conspiracy theories apart from the one that Apollo was a fake?

I've heard two: One I heard (at a shuttle launch of all places) that the shuttle program was a 30 year plot by politicians to bring down NASA.

I heard from someone else who claims their father was in some sort of NASA black ops that dealt with alien contact and made sure that the general public never found out about it.

Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 08-23-2011 10:00 PM               

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I found a funny quote recently on another forum when some asked "How long do you think it will be before the descendants of the Apollo hoaxers claim that the entire shuttle program was faked?"

Had to laugh...

Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 08-24-2011 01:34 AM               

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Urban legends about the Soviet space program:

Eisenhower let the Soviets launch a satellite first so they couldn't complain about U.S. spy satellite overflight.

There used to be doubts of Soviet space accomplishments. The Luna 3 picture of the far side of the moon was faked. Gagarin wasn't first, it was faked, the Vostok was empty playing a voice or video recording. Leonov didn't walk in space, it was faked in a studio. Komorov screamed curses over the radio at Soviet leaders before he died.

The one most people have heard, several cosmonauts died trying to reach orbit or in orbit before Gagarin flew in space.

Posts: 63
From: Newmarket, Suffolk, England
Registered: Feb 2009

Posts: 1042
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2005

posted 08-24-2011 09:00 AM            

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The most outlandish legend must be the one put forth by Richard C. Hoagland.

He claims that the Apollo astronauts found evidence of ancient structures on the Moon, and that the US government was warned to cease further human missions and never to return. At least Hoagland is right about the latter.

Posts: 968
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 08-24-2011 05:24 PM            

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quote:

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Originally posted by Rusty B:
Eisenhower let the Soviets launch a satellite first so they couldn't complain about U.S. spy satellite overflight.

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That Administration wanted the "homegrown civilian" JPL/Vanguard group to launch the first US satellite during the IGY. They finally relented and allowed the vBraun/Army team to get on with it!

Years later President Johnson was asked about the pushback against NASA spending and he remarked "If the people knew the intelligence we've gotten through the space program they would see it's worth every damm penny of it."

Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 08-24-2011 11:30 PM               

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Let us not forget the tried and true "Million Dollar Space Pen" story!

You know, the U.S. Government paid Paul Fisher a huge sum of money to develop a zero-g writing instrument, while the Russians used...

A pencil!

Far from a true representation of actual events, as Fisher developed the pen on his own dime and marketed it to NASA for use on space missions. Not to mention the fact that NASA had issued various pencils nad marker pens to Mercury and Gemini crews which all worked fine in orbital flight.

Many of those Gemini EVA photos even show multiple markers or pencils in the sleeve pocket on the outside of the crew member's suit, and I don't recall ever seeing any evidence that they leaked or exploded while in the vacuum.

Fisher's pens are a great product, though. I use mine every day and have so for many years. Unfortunately, some of my former flight students are probably the proud owners of several that I "lost" along the way...

Posts: 2454
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009

posted 08-26-2011 01:46 AM               

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I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned NASA publication 14-307-1792 which was claimed to be a 1989 post flight report of an event taking place on STS-75 despite it first appearing seven years before this mission was launched. It must be the only hoax/myth that quotes another urban myth that prior experiments were undertaken in a neutral buoyancy tank. Incidentally, positions 3 and 10 were recommended as giving the most satisfactory results!

What is fact is that the Astronaut Code of Professional Responsibility says, "We will strive to avoid the appearance of impropriety". The ISS Crew Code of Conduct is part of the US Code of Federal Regulations and is a fuller version but says much the same. Both leave plenty of room for interpretation!

Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 08-26-2011 08:14 PM               

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Urban legend:

NASA was covering up the "real story" about the "face on Mars". Recent clearer images have seemed to end that legend.

Posts: 233
From: Maplewood, nj, 07040
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 08-26-2011 08:59 PM               

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The face on Mars (and pyramids too!) was also put forth by the above mentioned Richard C. Hoagland.

He was my upstairs neighbor when I lived in Weehawken, NJ about two decades ago. He made video tapes trying to sway people to his view.

He served as Walter Cronkite's science adviser before he lost his way. There used used to be huge screaming matches between him and his girlfriend, with plates often being thrown.

One day the doorbell rang and Richard wanted to take pictures from our second floor window of crop circles that had been made in the snow in our back yard. He was convinced that the aliens had come to visit HIM!

Never had the heart to tell him it was our neighbors Echo and Rainbow who did it. (He was a magician and she a face painter. Seriously, can't make this stuff up.)

Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007

Posts: 106
From: Topmost, KY
Registered: Nov 2002