NASA and the Stunt-Man on the Moon
Titusville Florida - Advanced Storage Inc. is a subsidiary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is responsible for cataloging and storing the thousands of documents and physical effects of the space agencies operations for the past 35 years. Occupying several acres of warehouse space outside NASA property in nearby Titusville, Advanced Storage draws little attention to itself and is not mentioned in most traditional Space Agency publications. But it is here that the fire blackened capsule of the Apollo AS-204 sits which killed astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee. And it was this tragic accident that ended the hopes of Americans reaching the moon, contends former ASI employee, Lee Wilson.
Lee Wilson and the fake engine used by NASA
|
"After January 1967, all hopes of getting men to the moon were abandoned," Lee told me recently. If you look at subsequent press articles and reports published by NASA you can see that they went from a mood of boundless optimism to one of strict confidentiality. Everything started to get censored. Before the fire you could get information about any aspect of the planned launches and tests. After Grissom, White and Chaffee were killed, everybody clamed up."
Lee has considerable knowledge about the Apollo missions having been a reporter for the Titusville Eagle Newspaper from 1964 thru 1972. In 1971 he published the book "The Lunar Lie." under the pseudonym Clark Detrick After the true author was exposed, Wilson was fired from the paper.
"Every word I wrote in that book is the truth," says Lee. "I researched everything I could and proved that we didnt land on the moon. But Titusville is a company town, a government town, and when they found out who Clark was then I was booted out on a rail."
Lee spent the next several years in California where he worked at a small paper in Santa Barbara. Still interested in NASA he wrote articles for several small magazines about the space agency under other pseudonyms. But he knew that in order to find out anything new about the agency he would have to return to the east coast of Florida. He did just that in 1994. In 1997 he got a job under an assumed name at ASI.
Did Neil Armstrong actually land in Hollywood?
|
"I knew that everything I wanted to know was buried in some cardboard box in that complex. It was the natural place to look. I took a fake name to get access and slowly I started looking for evidence."
Lee was initially disappointed with his search since he found that most records had been destroyed during the Reagan years for space saving and budgetary reasons. But he hit paydirt in the Summer of 1999 when he came upon a wood crate in a restricted area that was simply marked Rocketdyne Div. 7-21-69. Lee waited until he was unsupervised and pried open the lid. Inside were technical parts and machinery that hadnt been touched for 30 years.
"I knew immediately what it was as soon as I saw the writing on the box. Rocketdyne was, among other things, supposedly responsible for manufacturing the ascent engines for the lunar module. The date stamped on the box was the date the Apollo 11 module was suppose to have lifted off the moon. The first thing I spotted was this gadget about a foot wide. I grabbed it and snuck it out during my break. Now I have evidence that will blow the lid off the cover-up that has been going on for more than 30 years."
Wilson says this device (which he is holding in the picture) is suppose to be a secondary ascent engine which was attached to the lunar module.
"The problem with this engine is that it is obviously not. Theres no innards to it what so ever and its approx. 1/4 of the size of what the engine should be. Its made of black plastic when the real thing is suppose to be made of titanium. Theres also a glass convex lens mounted in the interior which is obviously made to focus light. Obviously a real engine wouldnt have a lens inside it. This thing is a dupe, designed to have a light shined through it so a camera recording a fake model of a lunar lander would seem to have engine thrust when it is lifted off the prop lunar surface."
Lee backs up his claims with a NASA blueprint he bought under the freedom of information act. It seems to bear out his claims, showing a similar shaped device. But couldnt this by a model of the actual secondary ascent engine? One used by Rocketdyne as a test to see if the shape was workable?
Absolutely not says Lee. "In the first place theres no mention of any 1/4 scale model work being done by Rocketdyne or its parent company, American Rockwell at any point in the space program. They didnt have time to do it since all of the efforts were being made to beat the Russians to the moon prior to 1967. And after 67 they were secretly taken off the program so NASA could fake the lunar landings with the help of special effect experts out of Hollywood. In 1978 the Teague subcommittee reports (the congressional group that help decide NASAs budget) were released to the general public. Theres no mention of any moneys being used for 1/4 scale model work. Dont you think they would have mentioned it was done for a legitimate reason? It would have bolstered the evidence that the moon launches were the real thing. And why have it in a box marked with the date of the liftoff from the moon by Apollo 11?"
Wilson was fired soon after allegations of his theft were reported to Advanced Storage but curiously it was not for stealing the piece of equipment. Instead it was falsifying his name on the employment application. ASI did not return phone calls but in an earlier statement about the incident stated that "Wilsons claims of theft have been investigated and refuted. There are no materials missing from any storage facilities owned and operated by Advanced Storage."
Wilson laughed when I mentioned the statement from ASI. "Another perfect example of them trying to cover it up. I steal the evidence right from under their noses and they refuse to admit it!"
sources
interview with Lee Wilson, Oct. 10th, 1999
"The Lunar Lie" Lee Wilson writing as Clark Detrick, 1971, Detrick Publishing (self published)
Press Release 14-A34 "Advanced Storage Incorporated Not At Risk" August 12th, 1999
photos by Derek Barnes
blueprint from National Aeronautics and Space Administration "Apollo Mission Diagrams and Schematics 1965 - 1972" used by permission
