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There's so much more I want to know. Who put it on the trash heap? Why did the FBI come looking for it years later? Embarrassment? OTOH, back in those days, ma

by sverige 10y ago

There's so much more I want to know. Who put it on the trash heap? Why did the FBI come looking for it years later? Embarrassment? OTOH, back in those days, maybe there was more of a sense of pushing things forward, and less nostalgia, and maybe that was a good thing. I can't decide if I like having every speck of computer history catalogued and put in a museum. For one thing, I fear that 50 years from now, people will cling to the stories of the creators of Android or iOS or Pokemon Go, and somehow that old Nokia flip phone I have in my junk box will be a museum piece. Nostalgia. Can't live with it, can't live without it.

cooper12 10y ago
The original footage of the moon landings was actually erased and recorded over when NASA had a shortage of data tapes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11_missing_tapes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11_missing_tapes. So yeah there is definitely some pragmatism at NASA.
- propogandist 10y ago
  it's as if they want you to forget what happened. Let's just focus on a space station and travelling to the red planet we know little about. What footprints on the moon?
  - cooper12 10y ago
    Only the original footage was lost. It was still broadcast to millions and there are multiple recordings of these broadcasts. If you read the article you'd find that NASA actually released a restored version of the footage. So no, they don't want you to forget what happened. Lastly I know it's pretty hip to be a conspiracy theorist, but there's a really good video rebutting common claims for it being faked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXTF6bs1IU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXTF6bs1IU
    - nerdponx 10y ago
      I don't think he was implying that we never landed on the moon, just that the NASA manned program's priorities today have a misguided set of priorities. There was a scathing article posted about it last night
      - cooper12 10y ago
        I got a different impression from "What footprints on the moon?" At least to me it doesn't make sense that NASA would want to forget one of humanity's biggest achievements, especially considering what an accomplishment it was for America during the space race. If you can still find the article it would be great if you could link it so I can maybe get some missing context.
    - throwanem 10y ago
      > it's pretty hip to be a conspiracy theorist I've never observed this to be the case, and I collected conspiracy theories for a good few years. The people who credit them tend in my experience to be a rather close-mouthed lot, not least because they're accustomed to ridicule, and probably the very last word I'd choose to describe them would be 'hip'. I'm curious what you've seen that leads you to consider otherwise.
      - cooper12 10y ago
        Mostly personal anecdote. I've been noticing more and more "shill" accusations on the net (though maybe linked to election season) and conspiracy theories in general. Also, when I was younger I actually started following some of these theories because it made me feel like I was "in" on something that big brother didn't want us to know. it's basically masturbation while willfully ignoring any evidence to the contrary. Maybe "hip" was a poor choice of wording, but I have certainly noticed a resurgence in strange ideas, often masked by pseudoscience or twisting of facts.
- kristofferR 10y ago
  You're forgetting about all the other Apollo landing missions. The later ones have fantastic color video footage, remastered in full HD for episode 4 of the fantastic documentary series When We Left Earth. The whole 6 part documentary series are worth watching for anyone remotely interested in space, but here's a small sample of the quality of the moon landing video footage: https://kristofferR.com/files/moonlanding_footage_HD.mkv https://kristofferR.com/files/moonlanding_footage_HD.mkv
MaulingMonkey 10y ago
> Why did the FBI come looking for it years later? Embarrassment? I'd wager it has more to do with the... significant overlap between rocket guidance and long range missile guidance. Nothing to stir up a good panic like the thought of the latter ending up in North Korea's hands - how much good it'd actually do NK being entirely besides the point.
- chiph 10y ago
  Probably just to determine if it was still US Government property. After Apollo 11, President Nixon presented moon rock samples as gifts to various countries and states. Over 180 of them are now missing, and the FBI investigates people who are allegedly selling them (hint: they're usually fakes) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_and_missing_moon_rocks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_and_missing_moon_rocks
codezero 10y ago
I worked at a university where a lot of various research in physics, computer vision, and structural engineering was done. Often researchers and tenured staff held on to such artifacts but eventually retired or died. Their offices were emptied out by random staff who had no clue of the significance of their possessions and thrown out of left in a collection bin in the hallway. I've got a few gems I rescued from such situations, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was what happened, even if not, it's worth knowing that this happens :(
- siberianbear 10y ago
  I used to keep a box of eight-inch floppy disks in my office. Whenever a colleague would ask to borrow a blank disk (in the 3.5" era) I would give them one of these eight-inch disks. Many of my colleagues were so young they didn't even know what it was, not ever having used even a 5.25" floppy. It was always a great conversation starter. Until the era of thumb drives came along...

by sverige 10y ago

cooper12 10y ago

The original footage of the moon landings was actually erased and recorded over when NASA had a shortage of data tapes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11_missing_tapes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11_missing_tapes. So yeah there is definitely some pragmatism at NASA.

propogandist 10y ago
it's as if they want you to forget what happened. Let's just focus on a space station and travelling to the red planet we know little about. What footprints on the moon?
- cooper12 10y ago
  Only the original footage was lost. It was still broadcast to millions and there are multiple recordings of these broadcasts. If you read the article you'd find that NASA actually released a restored version of the footage. So no, they don't want you to forget what happened. Lastly I know it's pretty hip to be a conspiracy theorist, but there's a really good video rebutting common claims for it being faked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXTF6bs1IU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXTF6bs1IU
  - nerdponx 10y ago
    I don't think he was implying that we never landed on the moon, just that the NASA manned program's priorities today have a misguided set of priorities. There was a scathing article posted about it last night
    - cooper12 10y ago
      I got a different impression from "What footprints on the moon?" At least to me it doesn't make sense that NASA would want to forget one of humanity's biggest achievements, especially considering what an accomplishment it was for America during the space race. If you can still find the article it would be great if you could link it so I can maybe get some missing context.
  - throwanem 10y ago
    > it's pretty hip to be a conspiracy theorist I've never observed this to be the case, and I collected conspiracy theories for a good few years. The people who credit them tend in my experience to be a rather close-mouthed lot, not least because they're accustomed to ridicule, and probably the very last word I'd choose to describe them would be 'hip'. I'm curious what you've seen that leads you to consider otherwise.
    - cooper12 10y ago
      Mostly personal anecdote. I've been noticing more and more "shill" accusations on the net (though maybe linked to election season) and conspiracy theories in general. Also, when I was younger I actually started following some of these theories because it made me feel like I was "in" on something that big brother didn't want us to know. it's basically masturbation while willfully ignoring any evidence to the contrary. Maybe "hip" was a poor choice of wording, but I have certainly noticed a resurgence in strange ideas, often masked by pseudoscience or twisting of facts.
kristofferR 10y ago
You're forgetting about all the other Apollo landing missions. The later ones have fantastic color video footage, remastered in full HD for episode 4 of the fantastic documentary series When We Left Earth. The whole 6 part documentary series are worth watching for anyone remotely interested in space, but here's a small sample of the quality of the moon landing video footage: https://kristofferR.com/files/moonlanding_footage_HD.mkv https://kristofferR.com/files/moonlanding_footage_HD.mkv

MaulingMonkey 10y ago

> Why did the FBI come looking for it years later? Embarrassment? I'd wager it has more to do with the... significant overlap between rocket guidance and long range missile guidance. Nothing to stir up a good panic like the thought of the latter ending up in North Korea's hands - how much good it'd actually do NK being entirely besides the point.

chiph 10y ago
Probably just to determine if it was still US Government property. After Apollo 11, President Nixon presented moon rock samples as gifts to various countries and states. Over 180 of them are now missing, and the FBI investigates people who are allegedly selling them (hint: they're usually fakes) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_and_missing_moon_rocks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_and_missing_moon_rocks

codezero 10y ago

I worked at a university where a lot of various research in physics, computer vision, and structural engineering was done. Often researchers and tenured staff held on to such artifacts but eventually retired or died. Their offices were emptied out by random staff who had no clue of the significance of their possessions and thrown out of left in a collection bin in the hallway. I've got a few gems I rescued from such situations, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was what happened, even if not, it's worth knowing that this happens :(

siberianbear 10y ago
I used to keep a box of eight-inch floppy disks in my office. Whenever a colleague would ask to borrow a blank disk (in the 3.5" era) I would give them one of these eight-inch disks. Many of my colleagues were so young they didn't even know what it was, not ever having used even a 5.25" floppy. It was always a great conversation starter. Until the era of thumb drives came along...