The Suppressed African Space Programme

More than 50 years ago, the old superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in a space race. It had started with the Soviets launching the first satellite, dog, man and then a woman into space. Things eventually cooled down after the American astronauts of Apollo 17 left the moon for the last time back in 1972 and humans have never been back. Whilst the scientists, engineers and astronauts at NASA and their Soviet counterparts were making history there was another part of the world that was planning to go further and put human beings on Mars.

Now perhaps if you were around in the sixties it’s slipped your mind. They say if you can remember the sixties you probably weren’t there. If you really weren’t there, due to your birthday falling sometime after New Year’s Eve 1969 then you may have been subjected to Western and Soviet propaganda. Both who have selectively deleted the other major player in the Space Race of the 1960s from their history books and science lessons. So let’s travel back to that exciting, and yet troublesome era, to the continent of Africa.

Edward Makuka Nkoloso was a Zambian science school teacher and self proclaimed African visionary who had often studied Mars through a telescope. Nkoloso declared himself the director of the Zambia National Academy of Science, Space Research and Philosophy. His dream, for the newly independent country was to truly put Zambia on the map by sending a dozen “afronauts” to Mars by rocket. Included in the crew would be a couple of cats and a teenage girl called Matha Mwambwa who was, imaginatively, dubbed “Spacegirl”.





Nkoloso set up a rather limited training facility seven miles from Lusaka. His trainees, were given basic overalls and some old British military headgear. An essential part of the training, to simulate the feeling of weightlessness in a zero gravity environment, would be to climb into a 44 gallon oil drum. This was then rolled down a hill to bounce over rough ground. Another part of this extensive training was simulating “freefall”. This was achieved by having the participants swing from a rope and cutting it whilst they were in midair. Handstands were also a regular part of the training drills to ensure the first Africans could get about the red planet one way or another.


Nkoloso was so serious about the mission that he even applied to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) for a grant of £7m. "Zambians are inferior to no men in science and technology," Nkoloso wrote. "My space plans will surely be carried out.” His intention was to also send a missionary on board the rocket to Mars but he thoughtfully declared "I have warned the missionary he must not force Christianity on the people in Mars if they do not want it."

The rocket , an “aluminium and copper vessel, would launch from the Independence Stadium on Independence Day, 1964”.




Unfortunately, "Spacegirl" became pregnant and Nkoloso’s plans collapsed when UNESCO surprisingly declined any funding. This was plausibly influenced by the Zambian government’s refusal to give his plans any official backing. The rest as they say is history.

Louis Armstrong and Buzz Lightyear’s names will forever be remembered whilst a humble Zambian’s plans were suppressed. They failed to come to fruition due to the lack of foresight from his own government and the suits at the UN. Nkoloso however remained undeterred and had the last laugh. He went on to become a politician where it would be a much easier task to gain access to public funding for his grandiose schemes.


References :



edition.cnn.com...


www.dailymail.co.uk...


www.space.com...

reply to post by mirageman


The unmitigated passion these folks had makes one wish they at least achieved LEO.

Ah, if it only took passion to get off the ground, we'd have the whole solar system teeming with folks.



Makes me want to watch that movie The Astronaut Farmer again.

I'm not seeing where you're getting "suppressed"? I think not getting the funding was for the best, he might have had ambition but you need more than ambition and money if you're planning on going into space. The plans seem like they were a little less than half baked.

Even If say, I wanted to build a space rocket and I had all the money I needed, here in modern U.S.. I would never be able to build a space ship, or at least not one that wouldn't ultimately turn into a giant casket in space or on earth.

A good story, nonetheless.

reply to post by mirageman


Just another plot by the Man to keep the black-man down! Seriously though, I wish they could've made it. If they had've it would've been a boost to dreamers everywhere on the planet. I have dreams of building my own Spaceship one day. Too bad I'd probably be labeled a terrorist if I did.

LOL, African space program. Oh you guys kill me.

reply to post by mirageman


Lol... Thanks.

Shakes fist at U.N.

Next up, the African sciences related to supercolliders in the 1940s. This is where a man was put into a barrel and…

Okay okay, I'll stop. I don't want to come off as culturally insensitive.

reply to post by mirageman


Thank you for brightening up my day with a "blast from the past!" The "African space program" was not so much "suppressed" as tactfully forgotten about.

What a fascinating bit of history and wonderfully presented.

I say, Go big or go home. Gotta love it!

kx12x
I'm not seeing where you're getting "suppressed"? I think not getting the funding was for the best, he might have had ambition but you need more than ambition and money if you're planning on going into space. The plans seem like they were a little less than half baked.

Even If say, I wanted to build a space rocket and I had all the money I needed, here in modern U.S.. I would never be able to build a space ship, or at least not one that wouldn't ultimately turn into a giant casket in space or on earth.

A good story, nonetheless.

edit on 24-11-2013 by kx12x because: (no reason given)

Across the Atlantic in the modern U.S a number of your compatriots understand why Louis Armstrong and Buzz Lightyear were name checked in the OP as well. For others this post will remain in a low earth orbit cruising at some altitude above their craniums.

boncho
Next up, the African sciences related to supercolliders in the 1940s. This is where a man was put into a barrel and…

Okay okay, I'll stop. I don't want to come off as culturally insensitive.

LOL ....it was so tempting to go a lot further. But as you say we should not be culturally insensitive.

reply to post by mirageman


Good read - just sat back waiting for the PC-Brigade to have their say on this.

reply to post by mirageman


Very nicely done, good job OP. Good job.....

The Bot

So do you have any shred of evidence whatsoever, that this idea was technically capable of getting off the ground? (both literally and figuratively?) Because without that, your whole premise is completely misleading and borderline HOAX material.

It may be a "feel good" story or whatever, but it's really no different than little kids thinking they are going to build a working spaceship out of old fridge boxes in the garage. It's cute, but it isn't real, and honestly is very offensive to people who actually did put the real effort and legwork and accomplished things, vs someone who thinks their idea is golden and only a lack of funding by evil whitey stopped them.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who *think* they could easily go to mars, or whatever else. It's an absolutely monumental effort to get people to the Moon, one which requires a massive investment of materials, money, and highly educated people. They had none of those things, to think their dream of going to Mars was anything OTHER than just a dream seems based on nothing but your own fantasy interpretation of events.

James1982
So do you have any shred of evidence whatsoever, that this idea was technically capable of getting off the ground? (both literally and figuratively?) Because without that, your whole premise is completely misleading and borderline HOAX material.

It may be a "feel good" story or whatever, but it's really no different than little kids thinking they are going to build a working spaceship out of old fridge boxes in the garage. It's cute, but it isn't real, and honestly is very offensive to people who actually did put the real effort and legwork and accomplished things, vs someone who thinks their idea is golden and only a lack of funding by evil whitey stopped them.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who *think* they could easily go to mars, or whatever else. It's an absolutely monumental effort to get people to the Moon, one which requires a massive investment of materials, money, and highly educated people. They had none of those things, to think their dream of going to Mars was anything OTHER than just a dream seems based on nothing but your own fantasy interpretation of events.

Hmmm I will kindly invite you to read the whole thread again. Perhaps by paying a little more attention to this post in particular

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Now are you seeing that smallest denomination of coins finally descending?

Freeborn
reply to post by mirageman

 

Good read - just sat back waiting for the PC-Brigade to have their say on this.

Thanks mate. But I don't think everyone quite grasped the subtle overtones that exist in this thread.

Well, the NASSA was also suppressed...

This is a very sarcastic posting and indirectly racist. It gives us an in-depth view of the British mind and their racial Hierarchy.

Many of the Western Powers used to make fun of the pretensions of Russians, how they couldn't build this or that, until of course they did build this and that, including being the first nation to put a satellite into space. Then people stopped laughing so much, the question is, you laughing now?

Evidently I lack the intelligence to pick up whatever it is the OP is actually trying to say, so could you please say it in plain english?

The OP implied suppression of an african space program and I cannot find any evidence of this.

The OP implied they were capable of such a feat, I've seen no evidence of this.

Please explain the point of this thread? Can someone give me a short description of the vid? My computer doesn't have sound, maybe I'm missing the punchline or something? Considering the varying types of personalities posting here on ATS it's hard to figure out what exactly the point is. Is this just a joke making fun of them? Not getting it, I'm not ashamed to admit.

I have never, ever heard of this, at all!

An African space program would have been amazing, being that this was potentially coming form a land of such poverty, warfare and strife.

Who knows what could have been done with this program? Even though it seems more like an idea that this person was very ambitious with, and the supposed rocket was probably not going to work, who says that if with the right amount of funding, a school wasn't going to be established dedicated to manufacturing the first African space rocket? Ho do we know that 10 years down the road, they could have done enough research and garnered enough funds, just like any western or European space program, to actually pull this off and head into space?

And call me emotional, but i'm going with the actual facts of the behavior of the colonial powers here. The truth is Europe and the U.S. has screwed over this continent, just like others through direct and then proxy oppression and infiltration, making sure that political parties that were for pan-Africanism and the elimination of western and European influence and rule from the nations were promptly eliminated, and instead greedy, ignorant rulers were well funded and put in power in exchange for the continued drainage of all the natural resources and other revenue generating ventures through their ownership of factories, mines, plantations, businesses and general property. So everyone who says there is no proof that this program was intentionally squashed, look at the facts for what has actually happened in the past, and today.