I would not call Iran Contra a conspiracy...

and no, I am sure there are others, but how many other stunts have been as large as this one would have been?

also, do you think that if the Russians or the Chinese got wind of this not being on the up and up, they would have tried to find out for themselves?

during the cold war, how damaging would it have been for the Russians to been able to uncover such a large conspiracy like this?

Do you think that there were KGB agents working at NASA at that time? I would, since it was the space race and both sides were trying to get to the moon first. I am sure there were CIA agents working for Soviet Space Program?

I do, and if they would have even thought there was some sort of farce being committed, they would have dug deeper to find it.

think what would have happened publicly if the Russians came out and showed how we faked the moon landing.

 

the near side is black kapton. the opposite side is regular kapton with a silverized backing. Each side has different optical properties, but the point is that it is insulation. The gold side faces out usually and you aren't supposed to show the gold side, but when faced with no velcro (I don't think velcro was available at the time) the techs just warpped it around. Since the thing it is covering is not a sensor or some thruster shield, it was probably ok as it was. I've sent things into space looking like that and they are still functioning fine.

 

operative word "I've sent ". You work for?

 

northrop grumman

he hasnt met jack like we have ichi

 

so holy crap i was right it was half assed?

 

the chineese back then werent doing well at all so throw them out.

russia yeah the could have called the bluff but where is the proof?

how can they prove it?

with pictures of the movie set? we would just say they built that in russia and took pics to make us look bad

 

it does not matter.. if there was anything.. ANYTHING.. that would show doubt that we went, it would have been plastered all over their propaganda newspapers and news outlets.

 

Probably, but a lot of the cutting and attachment technologies I'm used to now a days with CnC cutters and the like were not available at the time. I'm sure a lot of the material was cut and taped by hand with scissors and a roll of kapton tape. If you look at the way they taped the thing in the first pic, thats how we'd tape the satellites going into thermal vac. Last ad most important thing is that it works. thats all it matters.

EDIT - there is a difference between half assing and working with what you have available and i think they were working with what they had in the mid 1960s.

 

the contracts go to the lowest bidder, but the job still gets done

 

but obviously there is doubt so why not plaster it?

 

doubt from the 'tinfoil hats' is about it.




since they didn't.. that should tell you something.

 

Exactly. As long as it works. If it didn't, there would be hell to pay later so we are always nervous before tests.

 

I would venture to say they were fooled also or their revealing the hoax did not have greater value than stealing technology from NASA but that is only speculation.

I think there is information in which they said it was not possible.

 

I've approved thermal installations on 12 different satellites when I was at Space Systems/Loral.

 

pshaw.. like that makes you some kind of 'expert' or something.