In sci.physics, Uncle Al

wrote
on Mon, 03 Nov 2003 16:04:15 -0800
:
Nathan Jones wrote:

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THE APOLLO HOAX FAQ version 4 - October 2003
Written by Nathan Jones

[snip]

Every Apollo landing site left behind a corner cube reflector array
subsequently used in lunar laser ranging and the Nordtvedt effect.
Said corner cube reflector arrays have been continuously pinged
(during lunar night) for more than 30 years by observatories around
the globe.

Idiot.


Those cubes could have been left by robotic probes later
(says the blinded uberskeptic). Nevertheless, I do
wonder why people doubt that we went to the moon --
and I also wonder if there's much point in going back,
apart from trying to prove oneself as a nation, as China
is setting up to do. Perhaps China can photograph those
corner reflectors and the bootprint for us. (Admittedly,
they'd have to land near enough first -- a tricky task when
moving a mile a second or so just before the deorbit burn.)

I was in kindergarten or first grade when I saw the TV
broadcasts (I remember the teacher or someone bringing in
the TV stand, that's about it). Admittedly, they were
crude by modern standards, although there was live TV
from the moon (as live as the 1 1/4 second delay would
allow, anyway). Tapes still exist of these broadcasts,
presumably, somewhere in the National Archives. Perhaps
they've been converted to DVD by now.

I've also seen _Capricorn 1_, which is of course fictional.
I suspect that is now confusing people of a certain bent.
(Some people around here are quite bent. :-) Me, I've
got a twisted sense of humor and a geodesic spine. :-) )

I've been to the Rocket Garden (Kennedy Space Center,
Florida). Assuming they've not moved it since then, the
Saturn V is quite impressive -- although I suspect it's
now rusted to uselessness. A pity.

Also, one could probably dig up in a library the budget
figures. If it was a hoax, it was an expensive one;
presumably they could have done it much more cheaply,
pocketed the difference, or spent it on improving
welfare somewhere in Africa. :-) (As it is, we're
spending three times as much on a certain country,
apparently; Apollo cost $25.4 billion. Then again,
that's in 1970 dollars, which were worth 3x today's.)

--
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