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| Russia Surpasses Americans In Space Race
|
| Russia Continues to Surpass Americans in the Space Race
|
| On July 25, 1969, many Americans watched their televisions in awe as
astronaut
| Neil Armstrong walked on the moon and said, "One small step for man, one
giant
| leap for mankind." Americans were amazed at what advances in technology
had
| produced: a man on the moon. Ticker tape parades greeted returning
astronauts.
| America had proven itself a leader in the space race.
|
| Lately, some have begun to suggest that this was not the case at all; some
| people have suggested that America never made it to the moon and that it
was
| just an illusion made with trick photography. Bart Sibrel is one of those
| people. He made a video called, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Moon,"
| in which he provides much documentation to suggest that man has yet to
walk on
| the moon. Is this possible? Could have America faked the entire moon
landing?
|
| On first thought, it might sound ludicrous for many - to think that man
has not
| walked on the moon. After all, it would require such a grand conspiracy
that,
| certainly, someone who was privy to such information would have spoken.
| Nevertheless, there are those who are skeptical of this moon-walking.
|
| Surprisingly, some of the ideas presented by them are not as preposterous
as
| they might sound. Based on surveys, it has been estimated that between 6
and 20
| percent of Americans do not believe a man actually walked on the moon. Are
6-20
| percent of Americans fools, or are they a little brighter than the rest?
|
| In order to fully understand the claim that man did not walk on the moon,
the
| events leading up to this event that most Americans consider an historic
fact
| must be re-examined and scrutinized. We must go back in time, when the
space
| race between Russia (or the Soviet Union, as it was known then) first
started.
| By doing this, I feel that you will better understand the arguments both
for and
| against the claim of man walking on the moon.
|
| What I present here may shock many fellow Americans, as we generally view
our
| nation and its space exploration program as being, by far, superior to
that of
| all other nations.
|
| After all, we were the first nation to have "a man walk on the moon" (or
so we
| believe). While this might possibly be true that America was the first
nation to
| have a man walk on the moon (though there is evidence to suggest
otherwise). As
| difficult as it may be for many to admit, this appears to be the only
"first"
| America had in the great space race.
| If we are to be honest, during the "space race" from the late-1950s until
the
| time American astronauts were to have walked on the moon, Russia was
utterly
| devastating America. This was probably both due to the fact that Russians
were
| highly educated and the fact that, with Russia's strict Communist
leadership at
| the time, failure was not an option. And Russia's society encouraged
| intelligence, whereas America's society has beenencouraging a host of
things -
| such as artying and irresponsibility - none of which promoted
intelligence.
|
| In 1957, America was astonished, as was the rest of the world, when it was
| discovered that a Russian satellite, Sputnik, had gone into outer space.
People
| were absolutely amazed that such a device made it into outer space. Not
only was
| the scientific community of America in awe, but so too was the American
| military, who were greatly concerned about Russia having the ability to
put such
| a device in outer space.
|
| Later that year, Russia again made a first, when a small dog, Laika (which
means
| "barker"), was launched into outer space. This again sent shockwaves
throughout
| the world. Americans heard about this and were astonished that a dog went
into
| outer space. This dog was actually put into orbit, and unfortunately died
6
| hours later while in space, not being able to withstand the rigors
involved.
|
| Meanwhile, in 1957, while America stood shocked at Russia's progress,
America
| attempted to launch its own satellite into outer space. This was meant to
show
| the Russians that America too was a contender in the space race. A
satellite was
| to accompany the rocket, which had been tested for stress. America felt
| everything was prepared. But the rocket blew up at the launch pad, never
leaving
| the ground. It was an international embarrassment.
|
| In 1959, trying to copy what Russia had done two years prior, America was
| finally getting an animal into outer space. A couple of monkeys went up
only 300
| miles for just 15 minutes total. This, of course, was a far cry from the
orbit
| in which the Russian dog was put two years previous. However, the monkeys
did
| return alive.
|
| While America was sending rockets up for 15 minutes in 1959, Russia was
again
| making shockwaves when its satellite Luna-1 flew by the moon. Later in
1959, the
| Russian satellite Luna-2 reached the moon's surface and left national
symbols of
| the then-USSR. Again in 1959, the satellite Luna-3 made another first for
| Russia, when it took pictures of the far side of the moon, transmitting
these
| pictures back to Russia.
| Russia also had the first space probe to circle the earth.
|
| A couple years later in 1961, Russia then became the first country to have
a man
| orbit the earth, Yuri Gagarin, who road aboard the space craft Vostok.
This
| again astonished the international community, who were surprised that such
a
| feat never tried before could be accomplished. While the Russians were
orbiting
| the earth, the American Alan Shepard was launched just 115 miles into
space, not
| even going close to the distance Russia's dog had traveled two years
prior; and
| he landed in the Atlantic Ocean 15 minutes later. Meanwhile, Russia again
had
| nother first in 1961, when its interplanetary probe Venera-1 was launched
to
| Venus.
|
| In 1962, America became the second country to have a man of its own in
orbit
| around the earth, John Glenn. Parades greeted John Glenn when he returned.
Due
| to his notoriety, he later became a U.S. Senator because Americans care
more for
| celebrity status than fit politicians.
|
| President John F. Kennedy at this time said America would have a man on
the Moon
| by the end of the decade. He was later assassinated in 1964, leaving his
dream
| of having a man on the moon to be fulfilled by others.
|
| In 1962, Russia was the first nation to have two rockets with cosmonauts
in
| outer space at the same time. It was known as the first "formation flying"
in
| space when the two manned spacecraft, Vostok-3 and Vostok-4, traveled near
each
| other in unison.
|
| In 1963 Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in
space.
| She was aboard the Vostok-6. Not only was this significant by the fact
that she
| was a woman, but she was also just a regular person, who had worked at a
textile
| factory. So she was also the first public citizen in space, not being the
| typical cosmonaut.
|
| In 1964, trying to duplicate what Russia had done back in 1959, America
launched
| the Ranger VII, which took pictures of the moon and then crash-landed into
it.
| Nevertheless, it did send some interesting images of the moon, close-up
images
| that attracted a great deal of curiosity to Americans, who might have only
been
| able to have seen such images if Russia had shared theirs.
|
| In 1964, Russia became the first nation to have launched two satellites,
| Elektron-1 and Electron-2, while just using one rocket.
|
| In 1965, tragedy struck when the American rocket Atlas blew up on the
launch
| pad, causing incredible damage. This terrible event sent a chill up many
| potential astronauts' backs. It re-emphasized the importance of safety
| precautions. Some feel that this accident was not quite that - that it may
have
| very well have ended that way due to some astronauts not wanting to go
along
| with a plan; in short, some feel they were assassinated by their very own
| government. It is not known what evidence such thoughts are based on,
however,
| if any.
|
| Russia too had a disaster related to safety at a different time, in which
many
| engineers died. This had occurred several years prior. Nevertheless, over
the
| years, Russia has shown itself to be much, much safer in its space flights
and
| landings than America.
| In the year that America's rocket was smoldering on the launch pad, on
March 18,
| 1965, Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov took the first space walk, a ten-minute
tethered
| excursion outside Voshkod 2. On June 3, 1965, Edward White II is the
first
| American to walk in space on Gemini 4, though not as far out in space. He
stayed
| out for 22 minutes.
|
| In 1966, Neil Armstrong and other astronauts went in space aboard the
Gemini
| VIII and Agina. They met amid outer space and docked. Later, a malfunction
with
| Armstrong's rocket caused him to return to earth prematurely, but
fortunately no
| one was injured.
| Meanwhile in 1966, Russia became the first nation to have an unmanned
space
| probe, the Lunar IX, to actually land softly on the moon. It transmitted
| pictures from its surface back to earth. Also in 1966, the Venera-3 became
the
| first spacecraft to reach the surface of Venus. National symbols of the
USSR
| were left there. In 1966, Russia had the first satellite put in orbit
around the
| moon, the Lunar X space probe.
|
| In 1967, Russia had the first two unmanned spacecrafts that automatically
met in
| space then docked and undocked.
|
| Also in 1967, tragedy struck three American astronauts who died while
sitting
| inside a rocket. Their capsule burst into flames. The reason why it
caught fire
| is largely unknown; it is thought to have started as the result of a spark
of
| unknown origin that was somehow able to ignite the extremely
well-insulated fuel
| tanks. Again, some feel that there may be more to this incident than we
| currently know.
|
| In 1968, Russia's unmanned rocket Zond-5 became the first to travel around
the
| moon and return back to earth unscathed. Russia was the first to have a
manned
| spacecraft orbit the earth, Vostok, several years prior. Russia had
already
| showed the world that it was the first to have an unmanned spacecraft, the
Lunar
| IX, softly land on the moon, and now it showed the world that it could
even have
| an unmanned spacecraft circle the moon and return, with Zond-5.
|
| Why didn't Russia then send up a man on one of its spacecrafts to the
moon? It
| would have seemed simple enough. I'll get to this later.
|
| 1969 - Again, Russia had another first: The first docking of manned
spacecraft
| (Soyuz-4 and Soyuz-5), and crew transfer from one spacecraft to the other
| through open space.
|
| 1969 - Still another first for Russia occurred: The first formation flying
of
| three manned spacecraft, Soyuz-6, Souyz-7 and Soyuz-8, during which they
| maneuvered relatively close to each other, with ground facilities
providing
| simultaneous support for the three spacecraft.
|
| Meanwhile, in America, the end of the decade was approaching. The
| late-President John F. Kennedy's dream was becoming just that: a dream.
Violence
| gripped America, with the war in Viet Nam and racial riots across
America's
| cities. America's leaders were desperately looking for "heroes" - some
people to
| keep the public's minds off of the problems at home. America was looking
for
| something to distract Americans from the failing policies.
|
| America's leaders wanted to show the world that its insane policies were a
match
| to the highly educated Russians and their orderly society. While America's
wars
| at home and abroad were causing much turmoil, America desperately needed
some
| "pride" -anything for which to be proud.
|
| Russians had wanted to go to the moon. However, there were many concerns
with
| safety. The Van Allen Belts released a deadly radiation that could easily
fry a
| person to death. Plus, the moon is 250,000 miles away - quite a distance.
While
| I'm not familiar with how fast the rockets were, traveling at 1,200 miles
per
| hour, it would be approximately a 20-day journey each way, provided there
were
| no problems. Even at 2-3 times that speed, it would still be a difficult
| journey. The amount of fuel required would be staggering, with the added
weight
| of people, food, air, supplies, etc. Yet somehow, these rockets managed to
go
| much, much faster in a zero atmosphere with nothing with which to propel?
| Perhaps, the speed is possible, yet one cannot deny the deadly radiation
rays
| out in space known as the Van Allen Belts.
|
| One cosmonaut who was sent in far outer space reportedly experienced the
Van
| Allen Belts harmful effects firsthand. According to various sources,
while he
| left white, he came back black; he was cooked to a crisp due to the
harmful
| radiation. This was despite heavy shielding to dissipate any rays, which
did no
| good. Those who knew about this incident were reportedly devastated.
|
| Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, as Americans and the rest of the world
stood in
| front of their televisions, two astronauts stepped on the moon in 1969. Up
until
| then, America was putting people about 400 miles away in orbit - far away
from
| the harmful Van Allen Belts. But suddenly Americans made it into outer
space -
| landing and walking on the moon - 250,000 miles away, no less?
|
| In 1965, the U.S. made a fake moon landscape, which was used for testing a
space
| vehicle. Some have suggested the scenery for the moon landing was faked.
Could
| this have been it?
| Russia seemed to continue to have "firsts" - except for the moon landing.
On
| April 19, 1971, they had the first Space Station. The Soviets launch
Salyut 1,
| the first orbiting space station. Salyut 1's original crew reportedly
died
| during re-entry on June 30, 1971. Georgi Bobroeolski, Vladislav Volkov,
and
| Victor Patsayev had spent a new record of 23 days in outer space.
|
| It wasn't for two more years that the first American Space Station - May
14,
| 1973 - was developed. The first American space station, Skylab, is damaged
| during launch. The first of three crews arrive 11 days later for a 28-day
stay.
| They make in-orbit repairs and set records for time spent in space.
|
| Russia had the first woman, Svetlana Savitskaya, to participate in a space
walk
| on July 17, 1984. With her partner, Vladimir Dzhanibekov, she conducted
welding
| experiments for over three hours outside the Soviet space station Salyut
7.
| Savitskaya had become the second woman to fly in space during a Soviet
mission
| in 1982.
|
| There were all these "firsts" by Russia. Yet Russia has yet to land a man
on the
| moon? Why? While people seldom hear about it, nor do they listen even if
so,
| Russian Cosmonaut Boris Volynov has gone on record saying that he does not
| believe that Americans landed on the moon. It seems he is far from the
only one
| to think this way. Indeed, it is doubtful he is the only cosmonaut to feel
this
| way.
|
| Further, one astronaut - Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the
moon - has
| confirmed some doubts. This is not to say that he supports the contention
that
| man did not land on the moon.
|
| He is an astronaut, after all. He probably enjoys the notoriety. And you
have to
| wonder if some of the past astronauts might have been given the death
sentence
| for planning to go on record about such things? Or were there merely some
bad
| "accidents"? Whatever the case may be, Armstrong is getting older. And he
does
| seemingly admit that something is amiss.
|
| Indeed, there is definitely something wrong here. If you take a moment to
view
| video footage of the moon landing by U.S. astronauts from back in the
1960s,
| you'll notice that the dust kicked up by astronauts immediately settles
down,
| just as if it was sand on the beach. Yet we all know that not only does
the moon
| have less gravity, but it also has zero-atmosphere. Therefore, the moon
dust
| should travel further given the force and little to counteract it. Yet,
for some
| strange, unexplained reason, the moon dust resettles back to the ground at
the
| same gravitational rate of 32 ft./sec. as the earth.
|
| In a letter I received back from the astronaut Armstrong, which asked him
about
| this strange fact of the same gravitational pull on both the moon and
earth, the
| response I was sent surprisingly admitted that, yes, the gravitational
pull
| should be different. Of course, Armstrong didn't come right out and admit
that
| this was the case. That might be the death sentence for him - similar to
what 3
| other U.S. astronauts experienced in the 1960s when their simulated rocket
| mysteriously blew up during a ground test? Oh, it was just an accident?
It
| makes you pause for a moment.
|
| Now, of course, it looks like the race to Mars has begun. U.S. President
George
| W. Bush has stated that, perhaps, man will walk on Mars by the year 2020.
Bush
| stated that NASA may send astronauts to the moon again so that they may
| experience the effects of space travel shortly before sending them to
Mars.
|
| But if you look at the facts, you really have to wonder: Has man made it
to the
| moon yet?
|
|
|