Why didn't the USSR fake a moon landing?

reply to post by Chadwickus

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Just to jump in, in case others are confused by Chad's point:

One must consider the entirety of the Space Program, starting with Mercury in the early 1960s, continuing with Gemini and ultimately Apollo.

A bit of History: Everyone is, (or should be) aware of the tragedy of Apollo One. It was called a 'plugs-out' test of the proto-type of the Apollo CM design, as mated to the Saturn IB lift rocket.

Here's something that needs to be explained: Earth's normal atmosphere at Sea Level is about 14.7 PSI. It is about 20% oxygen, the rest mostly Nitrogen and other trace gases.

To save weight, in the Space Missions of the 1960s, as well as on Apollo, the capsules' life-support environments were pressurized to about 3.5 PSI, but with pure oxygen. This, the same with the EVA suits (which blows away one idiot's video of why the gloves wouldn't work in a vacuum, but, I digress...)

Duriing Apollo One's test....the idea was that they HAD to pressurize the CM capsule to simulate the same PSID as they'd experience in a vacuum...but, at the Earth's surface. (PSID = pounds/sq/inch differential)

This means they pumped the cabin up to over 18 PSI....(14.7 + 3.5) of pure oxygen.

Certainly, the O2 wasn't harmful in any way to a Human....they had already purged the nitrogen out of their systems (any Scuba Divers know what I'm talking about).

Two things: It was not necessary to pressurize like that....(could have used normal air for this particular test) and, the egress hatch was a 'plug-type' (as used on jet airliners) but with no explosive bolts for quick exit.

Ironic, that Gus Grissom died on Apollo One, after having been blamed for 'blowing' the hatch on his Mercury capsule (later deemed to be false) during his recovery from splashdown, thusly losing the capsule. (It was recovered, using modern technology, and he was exonerrated post-humously).

SO, the proto-type Apollo CM had no explosive bolts. A fire started, and with the increased pressure in the capsule, and a hatch which had to open iniward before it could open outward to provide escape....there was no escape.

BUT, the very high-pressure O2 environment proved to be a hazard that no one had predicted -- the newly invented 'Velcro' material. Specifically, the 'fuzzy' part of Velcro....the 'loops' (not the 'hooks') turned out to be very flammable in a high-pressure pure O2 environment.

The Velcro didn't start the fire, but it burned readily once the flames hit it.

The CM was re-designed.....and the next vehicle to fly was designated Apollo 7, launched just into Earth orbit on a Saturn IB....but, despite that early tragic set-back, the program recovered. As it is in all experimental flight testing.

BTW, the Saturn V lift vehicle was needed to accomplish launch of Apollo to reach the Moon. The Saturn IB was part of the experimentation as the program progressed. Each step, once shown successful, was built upon and tested, again and again and again...and again....




[edit on 3/28/0909 by weedwhacker]

second edit.....I write off the top of my head....I invite anyone with further interest to visit Wikipedia. Lotsof good info there.....

[edit on 3/28/0909 by weedwhacker]

Perhaps the Soviets already had a secret Moon base there? After all its not just about scoring brownie points by showing the world that you are the best. The stakes were probably higher than that - the 'mining' of Helium, Titanium, zirconium and other esoteric materials and laying claim on them. Perhaps even establishing a launch pad for further exploration of the Solar System? After all, using the Moon is a more viable option than space stations costing billions of dollars with no facilities/infrastructure for further missions into the beyond?

OK, now all this is conjecture, but who knows what the heck is going on behind the scenes?

Cheers!

reply to post by mikesingh

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I like this kind of thinking mikesign.
I agree to an extent.
I disagree a little as to why operations like mining and the building of a moon base would need to be kept covert.
Of course unless we were to find that De Beers had hired the NASA mafia to help them mine diamonds or something like that.
But to expand on your premise--- think of this.
Over the last 40 years, young readers take heed, I say 40---the best the Russian anarchy and our soon to government, has been able to do or accomplish on the moon is a proposed attack on it.
A Shock and AWE campaign to determine if there is H20 there???????????
Now let me do a little math. Well no, lets let the guys with all the good tech data help us out with the exact figures.
I will say this--- If we sent just the equivalent of the weight of the LM and it's occupants in water--- to the moon, say once a year since the last supposed Apollo mission you would have enough H 20 there by now
to fill a small crater.
Two small craters if the Ruskies did it also, and China and Europe or Japan and need I go on.
Does anyone know if it would evaporate?
They already could have sent a dude up there with a divining stick. Way much less shocking!
Oh that's right, moon plus man NOT.



[edit on 29-3-2009 by Donny 4 million]

[edit on 29-3-2009 by Donny 4 million]

reply to post by mikesingh

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I did a google on that water disertation. Had the time. The market is closed today.

""Posted by Impact Lab May 28, 2006

A strikingly simple concept would provide efficient water provisions for human outposts and even bases on the moon. The idea is to clobber our already crater-rich neighbor repeatedly with tons of water ice — to establish an "anywhere, anytime" delivery system.Not only could chucking a payload of water ice to the moon help sustain an expeditionary crew there, the impact would mimic — in experimental form — a comet strike. Therefore, it’s a double-whammy: A science mission wrapped within an exploration capability test mission.


Spearheading the speculative ploy — called SLAM — is Alan Stern, executive director of the Space Science and Engineering Division here at Southwest Research Institute. He’s the lead scientist on another "far-out but on the way" endeavor: the New Horizons spacecraft that is bound for Pluto.

"I hope the SLAM idea stimulates thought and gets people thinking a little bit more out of the box," Stern told Space.com. "When we have people on the moon, they are going to need water. This is an exceptionally efficient, low-cost way to get it there.""

Wow some how someone had that idea 3 years ago. Good thinking!
Thats only 37 years late.

Oh come on now...The cinema that produced Sergei Eisenstein, Andrei Tarkovsky, and movies like Man with a Movie Camera, Battleship Potemkin, Andrei Rublev, Solaris and you're saying that have no real expertise.

The gov't that redefined the concept of the motion picture and propaganda, and you're trying to tell us they were just too backwards to figure it out. Really?

reply to post by PragueSpring

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I went to Blockbuster---- they said the vids you tally haven't been returned.
Can you help us all view them somehow, so we can be a little analytic here?
I posted that they didn't have a desert suitable for the shoot.
You know that rain shadow stuff? Somewhere in the Gobi would work, but you and I both know the Chinese would have toasted them if they entered there.