Sunday, December 2, 2012

No we didn't nuke the Moon back in the 50's


No we didn't nuke the Moon back in the 50's, but stories about secret plans to possibly do so exist and of recent some have been circulating on the Internet.

Bob in Texas alerted me to one of these posts and I Googled a few more similar links.  I note that bold type is often used as well as twisting what was really going on.  We launched the Apollo missions that went to the Moon and accomplished many of the items that are addressed in the Project A119 report.  You can look at the SENSATIONAL links if you have not seen, but I think much more information can be had by reading the actual report that has been scanned and presented in a PDF file on line.  (link to follow below -LRK-)
- LRK -

This is the link Bob sent me.
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Same story, different link.

Here with video clips and voice over and same story.

A little more material and pictures.

Revealed: How the U.S. planned to blow up the MOON with a nuclear bomb to win Cold War bragging rights over Soviet Union

  • Scientists were hoping for giant flash on the moon that would intimidate the Soviet Union
  • Aim of mission was to launch the nuke by 1959
  • Plan was later scrapped due to possible danger to people on Earth
PUBLISHED: 14:06 EST, 25 November 2012 | UPDATED: 17:37 EST, 25 November 2012
snip
When contacted by the AP, the U.S. Air Force declined to comment on the project.
snip
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2238242/Cold-War-era-U-S-plan-bomb-moon-nuclear-bomb-revealed.html#ixzz2DfW5m0PR
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The plan was NOT to blow up the Moon but rather to make a flash to analyze the Moon's make up.
The Wikipedia material is less sensational and informative.
- LRK -

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_A119

-From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Project A119, also known as "A Study of Lunar Research Flights", was a top-secret plan developed in the late 1950s by the United States Air Force. The aim of the project was to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon to boost public morale in the United States after the Soviet Union took an early lead in the Space Race. The existence of the project was revealed in 2000 by a former executive at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Leonard Reiffel, who led the project in 1958. A young Carl Sagan was part of the team responsible for predicting the effects of a nuclear explosion in low gravity.
Project A119 was never carried out, primarily because a moon landing would be a much more acceptable achievement in the eyes of the American public. The project documents remained secret for nearly 45 years, and despite Reiffel's revelations, the United States government has never officially recognized its involvement in the study
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Here is the link to the A119 report I promised.  If you take the time to read the Vol I,190 page report, there is still a bit of mystery, as Chapter 2 is contained in a Vol II, which I could not find a link to. (Probably where rumors of a more militant nature were spun. -LRK-)
-LRK-

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http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0425380
Accession Number : AD0425380
Title :   A STUDY OF LUNAR RESEARCH FLIGHTS, VOLUME I
Corporate Author : IIT RESEARCH INST CHICAGO IL
Personal Author(s) : Reiffel, L.
PDF Url : AD0425380
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=AD0425380
Report Date : 19 JUN 1959
Pagination or Media Count : 190
Abstract : Nuclear detonations in the vicinity of the moon are considered in this report along with scientific information which might be obtained from such explosions. The military aspect is aided by investigation of space environment, detection of nuclear device testing, and capability of weapons in space. A study was conducted of various theories of the moon's structure and origin, and a description of the probable nature of the lunar surface is given. The areas discussed in some detail are optical lunar studies, seismic observations, lunar surface and magnetic fields, plasma and magnetic field effects, and organic matter on the moon. (Author)
Descriptors :   *LUNAR PROBES, *MOON, NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS, DENSITY, TEMPERATURE, MAGNETIC FIELDS, ACCELEROMETERS, MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS, COSMIC RAYS, SOLAR SAILS, SOLAR WIND, SEISMOGRAPHS, PHYSICAL PROPERTIES, THEORY, ELECTRONS, SEISMIC WAVES, GRAVITY, GEOPHYSICS.
Subject Categories : Unmanned Spacecraft
Distribution Statement : APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
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A STUDY OF LUNAR RESEARCH FLIGHTS
Vol I
by
L. Reiffel
ARMOUR RESEARCH FOUNDATION
of
Illinois Institute of Technology
19 June 1959
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snip
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I hope you have the time to take a look at the PDF file.  You will see that there were different ideas of what the Moon was like and we are still changing our ideas as we get more information from satellites in orbit and looking again at the material from the Apollo missions.  Happy researching. :-)  [Glad we didn't destroy the Moon.  It would have messed up the tide tables.  How would I know when to go clamming! http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/]
- LRK -

Here is to looking up, maybe near, maybe far, maybe even a star.
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -

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