ALL SCI-FI

[bulldogtrekker]

The CIA Wanted To Put A U.S. Base On The Moon For Bragging Rights??
Ryan Felton, Jalopnik

It's no secret that the United States has a long-running dream to establish a base on the moon. Thirty years ago (1987), the CIA really thought it'd be cool with one top official saying it'd be worth it "because everyone looks at the moon and will be constantly reminded that a US base is there." Cool. ....

.....Deputy Director of the CIA Robert Gates had spoken with NASA's then-administrator, Jim Fletcher, who conveyed his concern over the possibility of a major Soviet space initiative in 1992 — the 75th anniversary of the Revolution — that might have a dramatic impact comparable to Sputnik in 1957, Gates wrote in a memo to the CIA's director of national intelligence. ....

.... "It also will have some spectacular view," the memo says, because everyone looks at the moon and will constantly be reminded that a US base is there.—


For full story with memo, click on this link:
https://jalopnik.com/the-cia-wanted-to-put-a-u-s-base-on-the-moon-for-bragg-1819140545

[Bud Brewster]

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Sounds like a great idea to me!

Another big difference between a Moon base and a Mars colony is that it could literally flash visible signals to Earth, proving to the world that it's there — not just a government hoax!

Just a thought I had while reading the above article.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

PROJECT HORIZON preceeded this plan by decades!

[Bud Brewster]

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Gentlemen, here are several interesting thoughts which just came to me.

In Destination Moon there's a scene in which a meeting American millionaires discuss the fact that the nation which establishes a base on the Moon could control the world. They all realize there is no defense against an attack from the Moon.

And here we are, 67 years later, threatened by that crazy little asshole Kim Jong Un, who is developing weapons he says he wants to use to "liberate South Korea" and "reduced the United States to ashes".

At this point, North Korea can strike back at South Korea, Japan, and even the American naval vessels in the Pacific it they attack North Korea. And eventually, North Korea will be able to strike back at the United States as well.

But . . . it we had a well-armed military base on the Moon, it would be impervious to any attack from the Earth if all the physical advantages of its strategic position were used to protect it.

What do I mean? Consider this.

Launching missiles at Earth from the Moon is much easier than launching them at the Moon from Earth. That's why it took a Saturn 5 and the Apollo spacecraft to reach the Moon — but all it took to get back was the upper stage of the Lunar Lander and the command module!

Gentlemen, I propose that the scene in Destination Moon with the discussion held by those patriotic millionaires has been completely validated by the current threat from North Korea.

We need a military base on the Moon to safeguard America and her allies from crazy little morons who don't like us and all the other sane nations on this planet!

Folks, if you need a refresher course concerning the lecture we received in 1950, click on the the link below and start watching the video at the 17:30 mark. The stunning accuracy of the predictions made in that movie should send chills up your back!

___________________ Destination Moon 1950


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[bulldogtrekker]

Yes I thought about mentioning Project Horizon - a much earlier program - but decided not to. All the historical photos I found of moon bases were from Project Horizon.

I am amazed that there was interest in 1987 about going back to the moon for national pride/propaganda purposes. And from the CIA!

[Gord Green]

One problem with a "Military" base on the Moon is that under UN and Geneva covenants atomic weapons are barred from use in Space.

That's why most anti-satellite weapons are Laser or Maser based.

The most obvious weapon for Lunar/Earth purposes would be the "Mass Driver". It's a magnetic field slingshot that can propel large masses of material. Solid tungstun rods propelled with this kind of energy behind them can do tremendous damage to Earth based targets!



From Wikipedia :

[Gord Green]

In between PROJECT HORIZON and PROJECT APOLLO there was another program planned for exploration of the Moon....PROJECT LUNEX in 1958!



The Lunex Project was a US Air Force 1958 plan for a manned lunar landing prior to the Apollo Program. The final lunar expedition plan in 1961 was for a 21-airman underground Air Force base on the Moon by 1968 at a total cost of $7.5 billion.

The primary distinction between the later Apollo missions and Lunex was the orbital rendezvous maneuver.

The Lunex vehicle, composed of a landing module and a lifting body return/re-entry module, would land the entire vehicle and all astronauts on the surface, whereas the final Apollo mission involved a separate ascent module leaving the command module and service module connected in lunar orbit with a single astronaut. The original plan for Apollo was for direct ascent, similar to Lunex.



Lunex planned to make its first lunar landing and return in 1967, in order to beat the Soviets and demonstrate conclusively that America could win future international competition in technology with the USSR. The Air Force felt that no achievement short of a lunar landing would have the required historical significance.





The use of the direct ascent profile was considered to be the most promising because it eliminated some of the complexities of the Lunar orbit rendezvous that would later be used by Apollo: in particular there would be no need to develop rendezvous techniques in space. The down side was that the Lunex spacecraft would be much heavier than Apollo to carry the extra fuel required to land the entire spacecraft on the Moon and return it to lunar orbit, and consequently a larger rocket would be required to send it to the Moon.

[Bud Brewster]

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And excellent post, Commodore Green!

One thought I had while reading it concerned the $7.5 billion price tag for the 1968 lunar mission. I remembered seeing one of those man-on-the-street interviews when Apollo 11 landed, and it included people saying (in effect) that even though the lunar landing was a historic achievement, maybe we should spend the money on solving our problems here on Earth first.

That attitude always baffles me, because an ambitious space program DOES solve many problems here on Earth! It employs thousands of people in hi-tech industries, it inspires young people to seek higher education, it boosts the national morale, it generates technological innovations that have far-reaching applications . . . the list goes on and on.

And where does that $7.5 billion go when we spend it on a space program? Well, unfortunately we have to put it inside a rocket and shoot it into space. Right?

Wait, sorry, that's not right! We spend in on the salaries of the NASA employees and the materials we buy from American industries (to some degree) and the scientific research to develop all the innovations needed to get the job done!

But of course, once we've spent those tax dollars their just gone forever and we can never get them back. Right?

Oh wait, sorry, that's not right either! All those employees of NASA and the industries that contribute to the space program are required to pay income tax, as do all those companies who manufacture the materials, not to mention the state sales tax, etc.

But of course, the government doesn't really NEED that money, because they can just print more whenever they want to. Right?

Well, damn . . . I'm wrong again! The government gets the money they spend on the space programs from taxes! So, if the government pursues an aggressive space program, more tax money comes in because of this!

Money which is spent on an American space program is a little like the "water cycle" I used to teach my students about. Water rains down, water flows to the ocean, water evaporates, water forms clouds, and then . . . water rains down.

As I've frequently stated on All Sci-Fi, if the government could promote the space program with the same enthusiasm it did in the 1960s (using all the good reasons I just described), more Americans would be in favor of supporting it!

All they need to do is come up with a few clever advertising slogans that capture people's imagination!

You know, something like this!



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

Bud, you're absolutely correct about where all that money goes!

But not only does it go to the scientists and those directly in the Space Program, but it also goes to the truck drivers who deliver supplies and raw materials, miners, steel workers, food supply workers and the hundreds of thousand workers involved in the program.

What other benefits are there?

Well, think of all the medical advances that sprang out of the Space Program. Cell phones, GPS, satelite TV, communication satellites etc.

Some people must think that the money is just burnt up in the rocket exhaust! It's pumped right back into our economy!

[Bud Brewster]

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Yes, I just skimmed the surface, so all the benefits of what I described go far beyond my "crash course" in Space Program Economics.

That's why it frustrates me when the government continues to ignore the benefits of committing itself to promoting a comprehensive space program.

You'd thing that Mr. Art-Of-The-Deal would realize this and push for putting more money into NASA, instead of stupid ideas like building a multi-billion-dollar wall across our border to keep out "dangerous immigrants".

But he and the rest of the Washington bureaucrats just want to make the voters in their states happy with pork barrel spending so they can get re-elected.

So much for "draining the swamp", eh?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)