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Missing Lunar Orbiter Tapes Found

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Topic started on 25-9-2008 @ 07:21 PM by zorgon

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Missing Lunar Orbiter Tapes Found In an Abandoned McDonalds

Pirate McDonalds

Photo Credit: Steve Jurvetson

We discovered a most unusual covert operation in a McDonald's today… What could it be? - Steve

View Comments on this photo HERE

jurvetson says:

Bingo Rocketeer for spotting mission tapes and jerryfi_99 for guessing that imagery data would take this much space.

The Pirate flag is purely motivational, methinks, for a skunkworks improvising what was thought to be impossible.

Forty years ago, unmanned lunar orbiters circled the moon taking extremely high-res photos of the surface to plan landing spots for Apollo 11 onward... In this McDonalds, the only copy of that data is about to be resurrected. Erik and I dropped in for a visit after the LUNAR rocket launch at NASA Ames.

And gosh, Alieness may be right too when they look at those images carefully for three-toe footprints...

They have never been seen by the public because at the time, they were classified because they would reveal the extreme precision of our spy satellites. Instead, all we have ever seen are the grainy photo of a photo images that were released to the public.

The spacecraft did not ship this film back to Earth. Instead, they developed the film on the Lunar Orbiter and then raster scanned the negatives with a 5 micron spot (200 lines/millimeter resolution) and beamed the data back to Earth using yet-to-be-patented-by-others lossless analog compression. Three ground stations on Earth (one was in Madrid) recorded the transmissions on these magnetic tapes.

Recovering the data has proven to be very difficult, requiring technological archeology. The only working version of the Ampex tape player ($300K when new) was discovered in a chicken coop and restored with the help of the original designer. There is only one person on Earth who still refurbishes these tape heads, and he is retiring this year. The skills to read this data archive are on the cusp of disappearing forever.

Some of the applications of this project, beyond accessing the best images of the moon ever taken, are to look for new landing sites for the new Google Lunar X-Prize landers, and to compare the new craters on the moon from 40 years ago, a measure of micrometeorite flux and risk to future lunar operations.

And yes, the conspiracy continues, with McDonalds' long and sordid history with the Apollo program...

McMoon

Photo Credit: Steve Jurvetson

View Comments on this photo HERE

Behind the counter of an abandoned McDonalds lie 48,000 lbs of 70mm tape… the only copy of extremely high-resolution images of the moon.

These tapes were recorded 40 years ago as part of the Apollo program to map the lunar surface to plan landing spots for Apollo 11 onward. They have never been seen by the public because at the time, they were classified as they reveal the extreme precision of our spy satellites. Instead, all we have ever seen are the grainy photo-of-a-photo images that were released to the public.

The spacecraft did not ship this film back to Earth. Instead, they developed the film on the Lunar Orbiter and then raster scanned the negatives with a 5 micron spot (200 lines/millimeter resolution) and beamed the data back to Earth using yet-to-be-patented-by-others lossless analog compression. Three ground stations on Earth (one was in Madrid) recorded the transmissions on these magnetic tapes.

Recovering the data has proven to be very difficult, requiring technological archeology. The only working version of the Ampex tape player ($300K when new) was discovered in a chicken coop and restored with the help of the original designer. There is only one person on Earth who still refurbishes these tape heads, and he is retiring this year. The skills to read this data archive are on the cusp of disappearing forever.

Some of the applications of this project, beyond accessing the best images of the moon ever taken, are to look for new landing sites for the new Google Lunar X-Prize robo-landers, and to compare the new craters on the moon today to 40 years ago, a measure of micrometeorite flux and risk to future lunar operations.

McMoon Tour at NASA

YouTube Link

MOD Edit - Edited out repeated external quote

[edit on 26/0908/08 by neformore]

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reply posted on 25-9-2008 @ 07:37 PM by zorgon

If you watch the video you will see one image appear on the screen near the end...

It is very significant to us that he shows LO-1-102

This is on Farside and the one we have studied for some time and featured

48,000 POUNDS of TAPE and a machine to play them on...

Also from the video you will notice that this machine is far higher tech that we should have had... the resolution is to great for a modern TV set and its liquid cooled with Liquid Nitrogen

The DOWN SIDE of this is he is already talking to NASA

looking for funding to finish the work

reply posted on 25-9-2008 @ 07:49 PM by ziggystar60

This is fascinating, thank you so much for sharing this with us, Zorgon!

So the resolution is to high for a modern TV set? Oh, man, would I love to see these images! But I probably never will, at least not if NASA is getting involved...

I am also curious, where excactly is this abandoned McDonalds located? And do you have any idea how the missing tapes ended up there?

reply posted on 25-9-2008 @ 07:59 PM by newagent89

Very cool discovery. I look forward to hearing more about this. It is very exciting to see some retro Hi-rez footage coming out into the open.

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reply posted on 25-9-2008 @ 08:09 PM by bismarcksea

Im just happy that they ended up in responsible hands.

My worse fear was that they where long destroyed.

This man deserves a medal.....Or at least a cookie.

reply posted on 25-9-2008 @ 09:13 PM by KATSUO

I have tape #345ma and a double cheese burger.. hold the kethchup. to go please.. :-D

sry couldnt resist.. LMAO..

anyway..
im glad they didnt end up in a incinerator somewhere..

but.. with nasa (prolly already there)
it will only be a matter of time before they are gone forever.. again..

reply posted on 25-9-2008 @ 09:26 PM by zorgon

Originally posted by ziggystar60
I am also curious, where excactly is this abandoned McDonalds located? And do you have any idea how the missing tapes ended up there?

Jack has been tracking it down... he thinks he knows where it is...

The fellow that sent me the scoop (the photographer) has not yet replied back... I will keep you posted... That is a LOT of footage... it is currently my understanding that he does not intend to just hand them over to NASA... but it sucks that they are already there

reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 01:18 AM by BRQuick

Here's a picture of one of the strips. Pretty interesting!

Here is never before seen high resolution image from the pre-Apollo lunar mapping project. This film was created from one of thousands of 1960’s lunar orbiter data files. Only a few of these files were converted into create high resolution maps to help map high potential landing sites for the Apollo missions. Only a very limited number of the files were fully developed due to the time it took for early computes to process. The result is there are tons of data that has never been seen or developed. In addition, the high resolution images have never been seen by the public because at the time, they were classified revealing the extreme precision of our spy satellites). Instead, all we have ever seen are the grainy photo-of-a-photo images that were released to the public. Hummm...exactly what I you are seeing here… as I took a photo of the film that our host was holding up to the light.

www.flickr.com...

reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 01:22 AM by BlasteR

I'm really not sure what to think.. This sure is an interesting story.. Thanks Zorgy

It doesn't add up though.. I mean were these guys illegally there in the McDonalds or were they there because they had paid the owner of the abandoned property and had a signed agreement? How on earth did they acquire all this hardware and imagery and then cart it into a McDonalds with no blinds or anything without being noticed?

What is this mysterious connection between the Apollo missions and McDonalds? I have heard about it before from somewhere but not sure where (probably CTC AM a few years ago, who knows). And even if some kind of mysterious link exists between McDonalds and the Apollo missions, why would they be so careless? If you are going to keep something like this a secret you don't do something like this.. McDonalds fast food joints(abandoned or not) are usually around densely populated areas. Did they just not have the money to put it anywhere else? There aren't even drapes, curtains, or window blinds... Wouldn't people driving or walking by NOTICE cars parked nearby and a bunch of people inside with strange equipment?

Before seeing the photos I thought hoax but after looking at the photos it appears it clearly was not a hoax..

I guess for me it just brings up more questions than answers..

Wouldn't these guys have to explain to NASA how they got the tapes? Someone dropped the ball on that a long time ago. Either someone was negligent enough to do something really stupid on accident and truckloads of data tapes went missing or someone got a fat check.. Where is NASA in all this too and why aren't they commenting? If anyone knows what really happened it would be the guys who actually have the piles of data tapes right? This is a really bizarre/interesting story..

Looks like they need some supersized storage... Good lord!

-ChriS

[edit on 26-9-2008 by BlasteR]

reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 01:45 AM by HaTaX

I started laughing when I read the part where they needed a AMPEX system that was found in a chicken coop... Then the only guy left that could refurbish the heads was retiring this year and the technology was quickly fading to rebuild this system.

Interesting story, have many people skimmed over the photos yet? I have to admit I only looked at a slide or two..

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reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 03:00 AM by justyc

they could try approaching google with them. if nasa don't demand them back them i'm sure google would invest the money to have them transferred into publicly viewable images and far better quality than their google moon!

reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 03:28 AM by alienesque

nasa are involved....

why..please god..WHY would anyone get them involved...!!!

reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 03:29 AM by Anonymous ATS

LOL. This appears to be a blatent cut an paste job. Someone spent much time doing this. Very impressive non the less. I call Bravo Sierra on this. Please don't waste precious resources, time, and brain cells on this. Sheez!

reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 04:29 AM by drock905

Something does not add up. Why of all the places in the world would these tapes end up in an abandoned Mcdonlads?

That building looks like it was recently shut down. So those tapes must have been put their not long ago.

who had them?
how do they know whats there if they havent been played yet?
Improperly stored tapes will not last forever, what kind of condition are they in?

Sounds fishy to me

VERY odd story if true

reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 05:00 AM by ANoNyMiKE

This can't possibly be real.. right? I'm on the verge of going completely ape shi... yet something nags, telling me this is bull.

Can I be disappointed yet?

.... What about now?

reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 05:12 AM by dreadphil

one word springs to mind ... B O G U S. Theres no WAY a large collection of old NASA moon footage would be stored in an abandoned MCdonalds...and as for having such high res camera taking the footage it cant be seen on TV, thats a ludicrous idea. Sorry but this smacks as total flim-flamery IMHO.

First of all..why would you put such important data in an abandoned MCdonalds of all places? There are surely hundreds of other more well defended and secured locations than some old MCDonalds...and I agree with an earlier statement thatthis particular MCdonalds seems to have very modern looking equipment, I mean it looks like theres even still power to the building perhaps, while this is a wonderfull idea, the given facts of the story just dont seem to add up to a legitimate discovery.

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reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 05:20 AM by ANoNyMiKE

Originally posted by dreadphil
one word springs to mind ... B O G U S. Theres no WAY a large collection of old NASA moon footage would be stored in an abandoned MCdonalds...and as for having such high res camera taking the footage it cant be seen on TV, thats a ludicrous idea. Sorry but this smacks as total flim-flamery IMHO.

First of all..why would you put such important data in an abandoned MCdonalds of all places? There are surely hundreds of other more well defended and secured locations than some old MCDonalds...and I agree with an earlier statement thatthis particular MCdonalds seems to have very modern looking equipment, I mean it looks like theres even still power to the building perhaps, while this is a wonderfull idea, the given facts of the story just dont seem to add up to a legitimate discovery.

Well it'll come crashing down soon enough; all someone has to do is demand they play one, games over... Though I'm sure they will come up with many fancy reasons why they cannot just play one of the films

reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 05:36 AM by dreadphil

Originally posted by ANoNyMiKE

Well it'll come crashing down soon enough; all someone has to do is demand they play one, games over... Though I'm sure they will come up with many fancy reasons why they cannot just play one of the films

thats always the way it is it seems. Ask someone to "show us the money!" and there suddenly all kinds of excuses as to why the evidence cant be brought forth.

[edit on 12/08/07 by dreadphil]

reply posted on 26-9-2008 @ 05:41 AM by mikesingh

Originally posted by zorgon
It is currently my understanding that he does not intend to just hand them over to NASA... but it sucks that they are already there

Now that's dumb!!

Why the heck should he have informed NASA about this? He must've lost his marbles!

We can now forget about seeing these uncensored Moon images in high definition! Or do we have some that have not been whisked away by NASA or some of the three letter clubs?