[amsat-bb] "One giant blunder for mankind: how NASA lost moon pictures"

["Ellis" <ellisfamily@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

I have an interest in the history of radio, and the history of technology.

Here is a story from the Saturday 5 Aug 2006 edition of one of the several
"newspapers of record" in Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/one-giant-blunder-for-mankind/2006/08/04
/1154198328978.html
One giant blunder for mankind: how NASA lost moon pictures
by
Richard Macey
August 5, 2006

The newspaper's story proves the old saying, "All news is local." It tells
of the efforts of John Sarkissian, a scientist at Parkes radio telescope (
http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/people/jsarkiss/ ), to find missing NASA
video tapes of the 1969 moon walk by Armstrong and Aldrin.

The funny thing is that the SMH mentions the iconic Australian movie, "The
Dish" ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205873/ ), that gets the history subtly
and not-so-subtly wrong. But, most Australians accept it as truth, because
it was made into a movie.

Here ( http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/apollo11/ ) is Sarkissian's version
of the truth, that at least mentions the role of NASA's Goldstone (US) and
Honeysuckle Creek (Australian) ground stations taking the first feeds of the
moon walk. (see tab "The Television Broadcasts")

Please notice the timeline:
2000 Movie made (released just after 30th anniversary of moon walk)
2001	Sarkissian's research into history of Parkes' involvement
2006 world hears of the 'loss' of the moon tapes, and that the march of
technology will make them unreadable anyway in 3 months when NASA's and
possibly the world's last facility capable of playing them will be shut
down.

Best wishes,
Peter VK1KEP
AMSAT-BB list-lurker
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