Originally posted by Phage
Please show us where Van Braun said the "neutral point" was 43,495 miles from the Moon's center.
In the 1969 edition of History of Rocketry & Space Travel by Wernher von Braun and Frederick I. Ordway III, the following statement is made concerning
Apollo 11:
"The approach to the Moon was so precise that the mid-
course correction scheduled for 8:26 a.m. (EDT) on the 19th was canceled. At a distance of 43,495 miles from the Moon, Apollo 11 passed the so-called
"neutral" point, beyond which the Lunar gravitational field dominated that of Earth. Consequently, the spacecraft, which had been gradually losing
speed on its long coast away from Earth, now began to accelerate."
This is from:
John A. Eisele, Astrodynamics, Rockets, Satellites, and Space Travel, (Washington: The National Book Company of America, 1967), p. 350
So press did get it right.
Also, re-watch tapes from Apollo missions and you will see how astronauts and physical objects (like rover) act in a 64% if not 70% or 80% gravity.
If you work out the inverse-square law for the "old" neutral point - 24 000 miles from the center of the Moon - you get one-sixth of Earth's
gravity -- so the formula is working as it should regardless of the Sun, Earth and other bodies.
Don't forget you are on a conspiracy site, there is a massive cover-up concerning the moon going on. The only best data is the old one.
Regarding Apollo: I cant' specify where this quote from, but here it is:
"Houston report the instant at which we leave the lunar sphere of influence, This means simply that despite the fact we are only thirty-four thousand
nautical miles from the moon and still 174 000 away from the earth, the earth's pull has become dominant and the mathematical equations now recognize
this fact."
[edit on 2/7/2009 by strNick]