The Backup Crew

NASA transcript lists a backup crew for Apollo 12.

I first heard of the Apollo backup crew on the Clyde Lewis radio show, Ground Zero in 2016.  Clyde’s guest was noted UFO researcher Richard Dolan.  During the interview, he played an audio clip (linked below) he had gotten from contacts in the aerospace industrial community regarding a conversation from Pete Conrad on Apollo 12 to mission control inquiring about a sighting of objects following them on the way to the moon.  Incredibly, besides the reason of spent boosters and ejected panels, at the end of the exchange, it was suggested that maybe they were being followed by a “backup crew.”

After some banter back and forth, here is the explanation given to them from the Mission Control in the transcript:

036:12:07 Carr: Roger, Pete. That thing you saw off the hatch, at a roll of 35 degrees, we figured there's probably three possible answers. Number 1: it could be the S-IVB, or possibly a SLA panel, or it could be the backup crew flying trail on you. 

036:12:24 Conrad: Roger. Actually we have two objects out there. One's not anywhere near as bright as the other, so I think the real bright one's the S-IVB and the other one's probably a SLA panel. They're about 20 degrees apart. And as far as the backup crew goes, tell them we'll meet them on the back side of the moon. 

One odd thing about this exchange, besides being an amazing admission of a hereto unknown event of the Apollo moon missions, is that this conversation was not on the Apollo Flight Journal website several years ago.  When it was reorganized with a new layout a while back, it was added.  My initial searches could not find it originally, but it has been returned to the official transcript.  I assumed at the time it was too hot to released to the public and was edited out.

Was this an inside joke or was it inside baseball?  Having a backup crew in space with the main crew on the flight to the moon adds a whole new dimension to the Apollo moon missions.  Where was this other crew launched from?  What type of crafts were they flying?  Ships from a secret space program?  

But it does not end with the backup crew acknowledgment.  In the final exchange about this issue, the following was said:

36:26:51 Conrad: That could be true but, gee whiz, when we turned around, I saw one of those SLA panels leaving the area at a high rate of speed; it looked to me like it was leaving us pretty - pretty rapid clip, like it got a lot more than a foot per second or so. 

036:27:21 Carr: Well, since we don't really have any idea how they left or what their trajectory could be, it's kind of tough really to say just what the heck that could be. 

036:27:33 Gordon: Okay. We'll assume it's friendly anyway, okay?
036:27:37 Carr: Roger. If it makes any noises, it's probably just wind in the rigging. 

036:27:41 Conrad: Okay. Understand. 

Most likely inside baseball on this one. Noises?  In the vacuum of space where no sound is transmitted?  Wind in the rigging?   Mission controller, Jerry Carr (who would command Skylab 4) seems to be talking in code.  And Conrad states that he understands what noises and “wind in the rigging” means.  Glad he does because I have no idea what he is talking about.  If not code, then what are they trying to say?  Too cryptic to be a joke.  

(The “friendly” comment was made by astronaut Dick Gordon, on board Apollo 12.)

Now, compare the transcript above to the Ground Zero broadcast and you will see how heavily edited the transcript is by NASA.  Link HERE.  There is actually more detail in Clyde Lewis’s audio clip.

Interjected into all of this are comments made by the NASA Public Affairs Office attempting to expand on what is going on here and making a poor attempt of it.   No statements explaining the meaning of the backup crew reference, only that Dave Scott (Apollo 15) working nearby, smiled at the comment. Were they using this to imply it was a big inside joke?  If so, they failed.  And Conrad mentions the backups in a matter of fact style with no inflection of voice implying a joke.  Likewise, the “wind in the rigging” remark is not addressed at all.

So we are left with another mystery from NASA.  It is interesting that they would release the transcript of NASA personnel discussing extra astronauts in space and then the notion of meeting up with them at the moon.  NASA did of course have backup crews for each flight, but the public was left with the impression they were available in case something happened to a scheduled crew member such as illness or death.  The logistical issues of a separate launch from a location other than the Kennedy Space Center and keep it under wraps would be an enormous undertaking.  It seems implausible but here they are talking about it.  Did it really happen and will we ever know?

Apollo Flight Journal Link with audio clips:

https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap12fj/07day2_qettd.html

Of Spacesuits and Helmets

Neil Armstrongs's alleged spacesuit. Note the blue overboots.  They are gray in the moon images.

NASA documentation shows that Apollo spacesuits offered little to no radiation protection.

Studying the Apollo moon landings is about like studying the JFK assassination.  Down one rabbit trail after the other.  A very contradicting trail.  Some of the official statements and published documents that describe how the feat of building complicated space craft to land men on the moon in just 8 years, comes off as a poorly written science fiction drama where the author cannot keep his plot threads from conflicting.  In other instances, no explanation is available at all.  This not only includes NASA at the time of the Apollo program, but years later when the goal shifts back to returning to the moon with the Orion program.  

Spacesuits And Radiation

Radiation is probably one of the most hazardous conditions affecting manned space flight.  The fist hurdle is the Van Allen Radiation belts, the earth’s donut shaped force field.  It traps numerous particles and blocks the solar wind.  It is widely known that the belts are a great hazard and hence, impediment to manned space flight.  Dr. Van Allen stressed this fact in science articles in the late 1950’s.  Ironically, none of the astronauts in their books have an issue with these radiation belts, passing thru them, to and fro, with no harm.  Frank Borman commander of Apollo 8 stated in his book Countdown, that they traveled thru the thickest part of the Van Allen belts and the radiation exposure was the equivalent of a chest x-ray.  Even before Apollo, in 1966 Gemini flight 11 reached a record altitude of 875 miles above earth which would place them in the first of the two belts.  Once again, no harm was reported.

Once past that, the moon presents a toxic hazmat zone filled with an unrelenting flow of radiative particles such cosmic radiation, gamma rays, microwaves, x-rays and on on.  Even the ground soil is radiated.  A study of the Apollo spacesuit and its development and use, not much is said regarding the radiation shielding in the suit.  In NASA’s spacesuit manual, they list numerous layers of aluminized mylar film used in the suit interior to protect the astronaut.  The manual specifically makes note that multiple layers of aluminized mylar were used for the protection of thermal radiation.  Thermal is heat.  You can experience that on a sunny day at the beach.  But that is not nuclear radiation.  In this case, NASA is defining the suit as protecting the astronaut from environmental conditions which is needed with the moon surface temperature in direct sunlight ranging form 260 to 280 degrees Fahrenheit (123-137 C). 

The only other radiation listed in the manual is ultraviolet radiation which can damage the astronaut’s eyes, solved by the use of the gold visor.  

Nuclear radiation hazards are never mentioned or addressed for the safety of the astronaut wearing the suit.

Even TV documentaries are silent about this issue, such as the episode of Moon Machines on the SCI Channel discussing the development of the Apollo spacesuit.  It never mentioned radiation shielding in the resulting design.  One would think this would be an important feature to develop for the safety of the astronauts.  But once again, it is never mentioned. 

Researcher Marcus Allen, a believer in the moon hoax theory, said he contacted a contractor building spacesuits and inquired about the radiation shielding used in the suit.  They told him to contact NASA as they didn’t build shielding in the suits they constructed for use by the astronauts. 

The moon itself is radioactive.  NASA’s science site (see link below) states that gamma rays cause nuclear reactions in the soil making it radioactive.  Astronauts said the moon dirt got all over their suits and gear, with one astronaut stating that some got in his mouth.  Yet, none of them ever got radiation sickness or resulting health issues from exposure to moon dirt. 

How do the “experts” deal with these conflicting issues?  They simply state that the astronauts were not in the intense radiation zones (Van Allen belts, cislunar space, the moon) long enough to experience any serious effects from life threatening radiation.  Which is nonsense.  Russian scientists about in the 1960’s concluded that the radiation was severe enough to require 4 feet of lead shielding which is utterly impractical.  It is hard to understand how the astronauts could have survived in such a toxic environment regardless of how long they were there in EVA on the moon and not suffer serious consequences.  The proper shielding is not there as stated in NASA documents.  None of the Apollo astronauts who were alleged to have flown to, or landed on the moon, were ever effected by radiation sickness during, or after, the missions.  And all of this with spacesuits, as stated above in multiple NASA technical reports, that did not have proper radiation shielding!  These suits could not be used for Hazmat work on earth during a nuclear power plant emergency, so why would they be any good for use in the most dangerous radiation zone of them all—the surface of the moon?

Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders.  Note the lack of shielding or insulation in his plastic helmet.

The Helmet

Besides the lack of radiation shielding from the suit, it should be noted that the spacesuit helmet, crafted from Lexan polycarbonate (i.e., plastic), has no shielding from either thermal or nuclear based radiation, nor insulated from conditions of extreme heat or cold.  The only safeguard is the gold visor for the afore mentioned ultraviolet radiation, which is the only type of radiation protection, besides thermal, which is heat, listed in NASA’s documentation.  The polycarbonate material is rated to handle temperatures up to 297 degrees Fahrenheit, safe enough for surface temperatures on the moon, although it will deform at above 240 degrees Fahrenheit (something never seen or documented by NASA).  There is no data on this form of plastic in conjunction with below freezing temperatures.

Underneath the suit the astronauts wear a liquid cooling garment (LCG) featuring water filled tubes for keeping the astronaut cool. (It is unknown how this cooling system turned warm for the severely cold shadow areas on the moon.) It fully covers the body and is used in spacesuits to this day.  However, while the tubing extends to the feet, it does not cover the head or the hands. As already stated, there is no thermal insulation in the helmet but the outside is covered in beta cloth which is flame resistant, but it is not explained how this protects the person inside from the severe extremes of temperature and radiation on the moon’s surface.  It seems unlikely that the astronaut’s hands would be safe in the temperature extremes with the type of insolation protection the suit’s gloves provided.  

The end result is a helmet that offers little way of protect from the moon’s extreme environmental conditions.  Even NASA’s gamma ray experiments on the helmet showed no protection at all, with the gamma rays easily passing through the thin polycarbonate structure.  

In Summary

There is a disturbing lack of concern for the hazards astronauts encounter in space and on the moon. Astronauts in their interviews and written accounts say precious little regarding this mortal danger. And no proper explanation is coming forth form NASA as their documentation is sorely lacking in solving this issue.  Basically, the spacesuit’s purpose is to offer protection from extremes of heat and cold, micrometers, vacuum of space, low gravity and visual protection.  One will never read about protection from x-rays, gamma rays, ionized protons or any other types of radiation that will be present on the moon’s surface.  It is as if radiation hazards do not exist at all!

If NASA put men on the moon they were using classified technology to accomplish the mission.  There is apparently no radiation protection in their suits.  Or else, they didn’t go at all and the moon landings were one big charade on the American tax payers and the world.  Or, the true nature of space and it’s properties and hazards has not been explained to us at all.

If people don’t believe that man landed on the moon it is NASA’s fault.  Go to their web site and do some research and you will see why.

Sources

Spacesuit manual

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/alsj-EMU1.pdf

Space Helmet

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19710005127.pdf

Lexan Polycarbonate

https://www.acplasticsinc.com/informationcenter/r/what-is-lexan

Moon Soil Radioactive

https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2005/08sep_radioactivemoon

NASA Technical Docs Site

https://ntrs.nasa.gov

Aluminum Shielding

https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/43/107/43107414.pdf

Aluminum not a good block for Gama rays

https://www.quora.com/How-does-aluminum-block-radiation