When John F. Kennedy declared going to the moon within a decade everybody cheered. It was a façade, a clever ruse. Russian rockets were launching transistor radios into orbit, beeping at us while our rockets were blowing up on the launch pad for all to see.
Demanding money for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) for hydrogen bombs the size of a greyhound bus would have been far too crass for Camelot. Yet the technology is the same, just a new coat of paint and a couple bytes change in the trajectory computer and you have a first strike weapon. A nice ancillary benefit if ever there was one. Remember the immortal words of Wernher Von Braun: “I aim for the stars, but sometimes I hit London.”
I dunno man. My father worked for the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, my brother and I were allowed unfettered access to a lot of some crazy crap they have there. I really don’t think the Moon landing was faked.
[quote]skaz05 wrote:
I dunno man. My father worked for the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, my brother and I were allowed unfettered access to a lot of some crazy crap they have there. I really don’t think the Moon landing was faked.[/quote]
I do not think that it was fake.
I think that a rocket that can launch something to the moon can carry a MIRV to Russian and that a computer that can bring a capsule to the moon and back can find Russia on a map.
I think the political genius was to sell it to the Americans as a space race instead of sinking 20-30% of the federal budget into missiles that could wipe Russia off the map.
Or, they could’ve been trying to get to the moon, first? Naturally, advancements would follow, but so what? Eventually someone is going to insert into orbit precisely where planned. Or, land on the moon. What may come from that, just does.
Technological advances, whatever the source, will be used for war purposes… and military technology bleeds back into civilian life. Nothing new here. Gunpower can be used to make nice fireworks, or to put a slug of metal through someone far away at high velocity.
Did the DOD want a GPS system so that soccer momd could get directions to the game in the SUVs? Of course not. It just turns out that a system that allows you to put a missile in someone’s kitchen through the window can also guide a car to he Kwik-E-Mart. Win-win. Sorta.
As for the space race, whoever controls space, controls the Earth. Simple as that.
Thats like saying they started the Vietnam war so they could get better helicopter technology. Or improve their bombing technology or fine turn their fighting forces.
Bastards, I wouldn’t put it past them. But in all honesty, I really don’t believe they’re that smart. That greedy, yes!