The Scandal NASA Wishes Never Happened

[@astrumspace]

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[@fromaggiovagiola9128]

Dude- Leave the music for music videos. Your are starting to suck bad. Might as well be a Discovery Channel show.

[@signintoconfirm6168]

This one is much better. The last one where you pretended that neutrinos are something new that we just first detected, and calling them "ghost particles". That was so unbelievably beneath you, I suspect whoever you left in charge during your summer vacation must have published that tripe.

[@omsi-fanmark]

Thank you for providing this video ad-free for no charge at all and in a privacy-respecting way - thanks to Invidious and Sponsorblock. Pro free software and against Google and sponsor advertisements. Oh, yes, I forgot: I didn't ask you. Never mind, thanks anyway, your approval is just assumed. The same way Google assumes their right to the user's data.

[@MrGrace]

@@fromaggiovagiola9128 constructive criticism is one thing, but being a prick about it is different. This channel puts out great edutainment, that's why you and I are here. Lighten up.

[@N_g_er]

@@fromaggiovagiola9128can I be gay big daddy??

[@katesmiles4208]

I was more concerned that NASA stopped covering life insurance for the astronauts.

[@MrGrace]

Right? When I heard that part in the video, NASA lost credibility with me. I'm sure they didn't want that news getting out in the congressional hearing.

[@willo7734]

Yeah no kidding. Life insurance is the least they can do for people who get launched out of the atmosphere.

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

That's a bit ridiculous...

[@gladbandanna]

Is that still accurate? I'll Google it Edit: it's complicated. 🫠

[@edwardtorres3987]

Wait why did I never think of that? If that's the case then how does life insurance work for American soldiers serving over seas?

[@TheSolidSnakeOil]

NASA cut their insurance? I'd sell NASA out without a second thought.

[@KrazyKaiser]

Honestly yeah, that instantly put me on the astronauts side.

[@BrandanTheBroker]

I'm on the astronaut side on this. Knowing what we know now about how shoestring everything was sometimes thrown together, I'm gonna make sure my family is straight well before I care about an employer throwing me on a controlled bomb and shooting me into space.

[@ThaSlappyWappy]

If it was me… I’d have scammed the german and sold them myself as a side hustle 😂 “great idea bro thanks” ☠️

[@vanlandings7466]

Cutting the insurance doesn't make any real difference. NASA still pays out of its own pocket in case of any casualty. They just eliminated the insurance agency. For ex in Space Shuttle STS-107 Colombia incident, NASA paid them a total compensation of 27 million dollars to the families of the deceased in addition to the standard military compensation of 250k.

[@bilibili68]

@@vanlandings7466 just because they paid once doesn't mean they will do it again. An insurance company is contractually obligated to pay. Was NASA also under contract such that the families could sue them if it didn't pay?

[@kepler186f4]

They ask those men to lay down their lives and yet have no protection whatsoever for the families left behind.... and stamps are considered a scandal?!?

[@heathmcrigsby]

NASA getting rid of life insurance for astronauts was insane.

[@gomahklawm4446]

Capitalism....

[@heathmcrigsby]

@@gomahklawm4446 ...beat communism to the moon.

[@godfreypoon5148]

@@gomahklawm4446 Get off the internet, commie

[@OrgusDin]

They need that money to make brown people obese by giving them welfare so they can eat high calorie slop in formerly civilized countries, what use is going to space and colonizing other worlds? Diversity is our strength!

​@@heathmcrigsbyJust mention anything of benefit for the people to an American, he'll mention communism in the next sentence, and defend capitalism with his life.

[@Apostate1970]

NASA was supposedly concerned about anything that might reflect poorly on its integrity, but it doesn't offer life insurance to its employees. Got it.

[@llyallowyn8127]

I mean, they did blatantly hire Nazi scientists and paid lavishly to rehome them to work for the US. The illusion of integrity is certainly important.

[@livingcorpse5664]

Right? The astronauts would never have even thought to do it in the first place if they knew their families would be taken care of in case they die. Really though I blame the government, they've been cutting NASA's budget since forever. Gotta buy new toys for the military who cares about whats in space, am I right boys? /s

[@SilverSpoon_]

if anything, they're doing it for personal profit... in the middle of the Cold War, against communist block, NASA better shut up. hell i'd have kept moon rocks for myself and sold them. >that's theft you don't own the moon, it's noone's property, finders keepers !

[@bassett_green]

The video isn't correct on this. Astronauts (and all NASA employees) have government-subsidized life insurance through FEGL. The magazine "Life" had paid for an additional life policy for the astronauts as part of a publicity deal with Hartford insurance. Hartford decided not to continue underwriting that risk after Apollo 13, so that extra life insurance policy went away. NASA's employee benefit policies can only change with an act of Congress

[@patchworking]

In the years before his death, Al Worden spoke about this openly and the impact it made on his life. It was a sobering conversation and one I’ll always remember. It’s important to recall that these men were under incredible pressure and the impacts of this situation were life changing.

[@charlesyoung7436]

Ironically, the federal government decided to later cash in on the space cover popularity in 1983. The space shuttle "Columbia" carried covers to orbit on flight STS-8, inside canisters in the payload bay. The US Postal Service provided 500,000 covers with $9.35 stamps and collectors paid $10 each for them. They were all postmarked, but only a little over half could fly due to space limitations so as to get the second postmark upon landing. Those unflown were destroyed. The USPS and NASA split the proc

[@DrOtto-sx7cp]

Don't worry nowadays pentagon can't explain ... a trillion ... 🤣

[@jet_lee2024]

All of this could have been avoided if the astronauts were paid properly with pension for a dangerous job

[@LikePhoenixFromAshes]

My exact thoughts. Their salaries and financial safety of families in case of the worst would be lesser of the overall costs anyways. NANA got dragged into scandal of their own making.

[@rmyers99]

Yeah this video hits a little differently in 2024. It's easy to see how an astronaut would feel a little entitled to something extra for their sacrifice. A golden watch is nice and all but how about hazard pay for a successfully completed mission to the tune of some real scratch? Seems fair to me. For what would be a rounding error compared to the program's overall cost. You see billions tossed around on engineering and they can't carve out one little morsel for the astronauts?

[@alexanderSydneyOz]

So what exactly was the going rate for lunar landing astronauts in 1971? Of course there wasn't one right? The suggestions that they were underpaid is a ludacris nonsense made 50 years after the fact. Dare I suggest that they didn't really do it for money in the first place? Rather, one might suggest if they were friggin lucky to have the opportunity at all out of all humanity! Further, the pay rates were known ahead of time and if they felt it wasn't sufficient for the risk I'm sure there were others who are more than happy to take on the risk for the same money. I don't mean to make a big deal of this morally but the reality is that this is corruption on the part of the astronauts. Not that I care but that is what it was. I realised nobody wants to think of astronauts and these terms but the reality of the situation is undeniable

[@alexanderSydneyOz]

​@@LikePhoenixFromAshesit's hardly a scandal of its own making if it's staff did it without asking

[@jtjames79]

NASA could have been funding itself all along It's what I just learned.

[@bilibili68]

The moment you said "the astronauts no longer received life insurance", I knew whatever they did, they must have been in the right.

[@ashir555]

Nope. Back in the day astronauts were USAF personnel, in other words: soldiers. A soldier SHOULD and MUST obey orders. After Nurenberg trials it was stated that if an order is conflictive with the personal or institutional moral code they could choose not to execute it, but I don't believe making profit of your job or discrediting the name of your country or employer counts as a moral scape goat.

[@bilibili68]

@@ashir555 I'm sorry but that's just a technicality. Astronauts are not soldiers by any stretch of the imagination. They are not protecting anyone from anyone. They literally step into the unknown for science and the fact that they are expected to do this with no guarantees for their family if something should happen is insane.

[@eviljesus84]

@@ashir555 "were USAF personnel" ...well ackshually🤓they were also Navy and Marine pilots - e.g.: of the first 16 NASA astronauts 8 were from the Navy (including Neil Armstrong and Alan Shepard) and John Glenn was a Marine. Of course that still makes them all soldiers, just not all Air Force.

[@PChan-yt4uf]

That's a really illogical defence for wrong doing.

[@bilibili68]

@@PChan-yt4uf depends. Obviously not having life insurance for doing a job that is extremely dangerous is no excuse for murder. But for taking some stamps into space without endangering the mission? I can see that being justified by the fact that they did not earn much and their families depended on them.

[@Scott_Buchanan]

I wish politicians were held to that high of a standard

[@nolanwhite1971]

They could be. It's up to us as citizens to make that happen.

[@mrpunchy497]

There is, it's called you work for us and when you are needed we will call. There is no accountability in this govt because they work for the donors that sign their other check. It is corrupted and lawless.

[@exist7309]

Politicians and Supreme Court justices. We need large donor money out of politics.

[@CrazyBear65]

It would be nice if politicians were held to a standard, period. Our "elected" officials, whom we "trust" to run things... But corruption runs deep, and it's woven throughout the system. Money talks. A little bribe here, a little favor there... The whole thing is a circus.

[@EShirako]

Or held to ANY standard..!

[@lnr12241]

If i was an astronaut and NASA canceled my life insurance, i would bring everything, including the kitchen sink up there just for spite

[@Rampart.X]

You don't have the "right stuff" to be an astronaut.

[@lnr12241]

@@Rampart.X got that right

[@mikker32]

@@Rampart.XI’m with you on that one

[@aquanano1]

Nah, a toilet seat would have been more proper, it would have made a better souvenir...

[@lnr12241]

@@mikker32 you don't have the RIGHT STUFF either lol

[@chumpmu1]

Wow - the fact that NASA stopped giving their astronauts life insurance is insane.

[@jamesogden7756]

If you relied on Boeing for so much contract work...... 😂😂😂

[@Enigmanaut]

This "scandal" seems remarkably tame and mild compared to the nonsense that happens today.

[@LATgo-k8b]

yes I think so

[@stgeorgeist]

sending men into space with no actual insurance cover if they were to die is also a problem never mentioned nor what happens in the case to their children and wives A small amount of pay back by covers is a small reward for their part in mans dream to coquer space and beyond

[@smorris281]

Fun fact. Most astronauts during this time who were still active military pilots, were not NASA employees and not paid by NASA. They only received their regular military pay, and were not paid extra for their NASA duties. Their NASA duties were considered extracurricular. Civilian astronauts like Neil Armstrong, who was retired from the Navy, actually did work for NASA, and paid by them.

[@GiulianoMazzina]

I idolized NASA when I was a kid. This was amazing to watch. Astronauts are human like you and me no matter how badass they are.

[@matt1863]

Funny how underwater deep sea welders make a lot of money due to the risks, but these guys can't.

[@mrodd3776]

We can find those body’s most likely…. Astronuts not so easily. … if you believe nasa

[@Michigander269]

I had no idea the government stopped covering their life insurance, yet not at all surprised. In fact, their reaction to the astronauts taking it upon themselves to look fill the holes seems right on target for congress...

[@entropiated9020]

The thing that blows me away is that inflation has made $7000 1970 dollars worth $54,000 today. That's madness.

[@nolanwhite1971]

The US was still on the gold standard in 1970. The Nixon Shock started in August 1971.

[@aone9050]

​@nolanwhite1971and people say they want to return to the new deal lol. Literally the start of all this, isn't it...

[@books4739]

And I’m blown away that you’ve only just learned about inflation

[@gomahklawm4446]

"Free" sh*t costs money....printed money makes inflation....wait until you realize/learn how much of it is caused by loose women/single mothers....it'll blow your mind...

[@entropiated9020]

@books4739 I didn't JUST learn about inflation. I noticed it years ago when your mom started charging me more due to cost of living expenses.

[@simtexa]

The real lesson here is to never skimp out on the life insurance for the people who are putting their lives on the line for you.

[@robertfindley921]

If that's the worse these guys did, they are pretty good guys.

[@the_new_project]

My dad got a new RCA console TV so we could watch the rocket launch in 1969. I will never forget it. Incredible to watch as a child. I was 4 years old.

[@LATgo-k8b]

long times ago

[@Simple_But_Expensive]

The confusing part is that the astronauts didn’t have the personal integrity to say no, they did have the personal integrity to admit that the stamps were real. Once they were betrayed, they could easily have denied that they took the stamps into space, leaving the businessmen (conmen) to face fraud charges.

[@samuelbygrave]

I personally don’t see the problem, I think it’s a cool harmless idea! And with the risks they were taking I think it’s more than fair they get a little compensation

[@larrysorenson4789]

My father was a test pilot. Most Mercury astronauts were family friends. Dad was given an autographed commemorative envelop that was taken to the moon. I have it. It is a bit of cherished memorabilia; I was never aware of a problem.

[@skoitch]

Not overshadowed! I’m familiar with the science mission, but this is the first I’ve heard of the stamp scandal!

[@mtlgrsldx]

I imagine over the years NASA has likely played up the mission's importance since nobody really cares anymore about a few opportunistic astronauts just trying to provide for their families in the event of their death. And then over time people just forgot about this "scandal". I didn't know about it either, but when I found out they lost their life insurance, the ethics of the matter went out the window for me. I would have done the same.

[@jameswilson5165]

Wow! Although I was 9 years old, I lived through that era. I was glued to our black-and-white TV, and this video was a great romp back to those years. Well done.

[@brianSalem541]

Same here. I was 6

[@rm-gh1co]

Gee. I worked from IRS from 72 to 78. We had to take a code of conduct class once a year. It told us that if we did certain things we would be either thrown in jail or fined money. The government didn't provide life insurance, health insurance or a pension. They took money out of my income, as low as it was, put it in a pension account and they did not contribute to it. Also, you had to file your tax return by April 15th and pay all taxes. Otherwise you were immediately fired. One secretary could not account for the absence of $10 cents in a petty fund account so they fired her. My son caught the chickenpox. Because I had not worked there a year, I could not take vacation time to tend to him. Even though I had had the vaccine, I caught a minor case of chickenpox and we stayed home together. Ethics were everything. If anyone was accused of violating any ethics. Internal audit would grill them for hours at a time in a conference room. Things sure have changed, haven't they?

[@NikomaGrob]

Well luckily it is not like this anymore. I like ethics but hate when people shout at me in conference rooms.

[@Felixmz]

72 to 78. They were crooked then and are crooked now. The difference now is that they’re either more obvious about it, they’re not incompetent, or ignorant in their actions.

[@billyhomeyer7414]

Aren’t like 10k IRS agents currently in arrears on tax payments?

[@josephcorcoran8714]

Federal employees didn’t have health insurance in the 1970’s?

[@primeral]

Somehow I don't feel bad for all of the pain and heartaches IRS workers had to endure.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

Fully on the astronaut's side. They took major risks for standard pay. Nothing they did jeopardized the mission.

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

Consider NASA was publicly funded. When public workers receive gifts for services, it alters their functioning, doesn't it? (Congress, supreme Court, judges, police, mayors, etc) They also signed non-commercial agreements. Isn't that adding sub-missions? Also, since they are secret, individual astronauts have to decide if their side mission jeopardizes the other missions, and possible side missions, no? (Rather than the entire mission control)

[@bigbossimmotal]

There was a time when a man signed a contract, to do a certain job, a certain way, for a certain fee, and they would actually DO IT. Standing by a Contract, much less standing by ones promise is absolutely alien to most people today. Just as Alien as the concept that men used to do what their boss told them to do, simply because that is part of being an employee. By accepting the money, they proved they were not men of honor, they did not honor their contract, their promise, or their Country. THAT jeopardized, and combined with other similar incidents DESTROYED future missions. Corruption at all levels of NASA and the US Government are the reason there is no Lunar program, and it takes Billions of dollars to do thousands of dollars worth of work to this day. Honor is everything, well beside love.

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

@@PsRohrbaugh yt deleted my reply? Wth? Public funding jobs have/had bribery restrictions. They signed a contract. They could have requested to bring those on board, instead. If individual astronauts add sub-missions in secret, no one has a full scope of the total number of objectives in the mission. How can the mission be deemed safe if the full mission isn't known?

[@TheArgusPlexus]

​@@bigbossimmotal Bunch of overreacting babies.

[@bigbossimmotal]

@@TheArgusPlexus Who are you talking about? The Astronauts? NASA? The public?

[@rickhobson3211]

I remember it being mentioned in "The Right Stuff" that even some of the "Mercury Seven" took contraband int space. Would love to see a video on that! Thank you for posting these!

[@535tony]

I heard Gus Grissom took a roll of Mercury Dimes with him on his Mercury flight. All Apollo astronauts were allowed to take some souvenirs with them from their flights to the Moon. So Bean on Apollo 12 took a rock hammer he used on the Moon with him when he go back.

[@charlienevergold3654]

How would a collector know if an item went into space? Why not store it at home and just say it went to space? That way if something happened like this you can honestly say “I didn’t take it into space with me.”

[@brianh.4185]

To quote you, “Today, astronauts can still carry NASA approved personal items and mementos aboard missions but coins, stamps, and postal materials that, by their nature, lend themselves to exploitation by their recipients are forbidden by Federal regulation.” This is not correct. Coins, medals, stamps, etc were carried by the astronauts on virtually every STS mission and are available for sale periodically, typically through the major auction houses.

[@misterlyle.]

I think you are on the right track. Astronauts cannot carry items that lend to exploitation may reportedly be an official policy, but if so it reveals yet another form of gaslighting by government. Ask any collector how the collectibles market works. Every single personal item an astronaut carries into space will acquire significant value on the collector's market, including guitars, golf balls, everything. The typical astronaut may be willing to hold onto a particular keepsake for decades, but eventually all of those items will turn up on the auction block revealing significant commercial value.

[@kenrobba5831]

How about a similar rules for congress ?

[@mikker32]

@@kenrobba5831Or just that any political office member can not be a felon.

[@JohnnyAngel8]

@@misterlyle. "Another form of gaslighting by government"? Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?

[@misterlyle.]

@@JohnnyAngel8 Certainly; it is a lesser form of what is apparently a widespread problem.

[@Narmacil427]

"Here, haul a cask of brandy up to orbit, we'll sell it as AstroBooze after it's been around the world a few spins, we'll be RICH!"

[@Graycy808]

Geez! Spoiler alert! Now I guess I don't have to watch it thanks

[@MBSfilms77]

@@Graycy808that didn’t actually happen it’s a joke 😂

[@phillm156]

I would buy it!

[@eSKAone-]

Who believes such claims. It's so much easier to just tell they were on the moon.

[@Sammasambuddha]

You only need a few ounces in orbit. Once returned, add to a single barrel of booze, and you can legally advertise as "orbital". The quadrillions of molecules in a few ounces will "contaminate" many more barrels to come. Science.

[@geordiedog1749]

Gather 'round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun A man whose allegiance Is ruled by expedience Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown "Nazi, Schmazi!" says Wernher von Braun Don't say that he's hypocritical Say rather that he's apolitical "Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down? That's not my department!" says Wernher von Braun Some have harsh words for this man of renown But some think our attitude Should be one of gratitude Like the widows and cripples in old London town Who owe their large pensions to Wernher von Braun You too may be a big hero Once you've learned to count backwards to zero "In German, und Englisch, I know how to count down Und I'm learning Chinese!" says Wernher von Braun

[@charlesyoung7436]

That was one great song by Tom Lehrer.

[@bipolarbear9917]

Deke Slayton not reporting this incident higher up was just him covering for his boys. He punished them enough for their insubordination in ignoring Deke’s orders. They went with the philosophy of ‘what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him’. They were covering for each other.

[@RobertCampsall]

Rather amusing - Robert A. Heinlein, in his book "The Man Who Sold The Moon", a novel (fiction, just to be clear) about a very wealthy space enthusiast who funded the first trip to the moon. He had to fund it through a variety of means as his personal fortune was not enough to fund essentially the entire Apollo program by himself and one of the ways he raised money was to get his astronaut to become an "authorized agent" of the USPS (US Postal Service) and postmark a carefully calculated number (to maximize earnings) of letters while he was on the moon's surface. Amazing how often science fiction has - sort of - predicted the future.

[@erikjessup4495]

And then (in the novella) they forgot to include the stamps in the weight calculations for the flight, and so didn't actually take them!

[@BrandanTheBroker]

NASA treats astronauts like NCAA treated student athletes. We can use your NIL however we want and give you scraps, but don't you dare do it for yourself

[@dennismitchell5276]

1949 Robert Heinlein wrote, "The Man Who Sold The Moon" which had a stamp scandal. Life imitating art.

[@erikjessup4495]

In that case, they pre-sold stamps that were to have been cancelled on the moon, but then forgot to include the stamps in the weight calculations for the flight and so couldn't actually take them!

[@federicogiana]

@@erikjessup4495 The coldest equations!

[@tjp4342]

Thank-you for putting your stamp on this story.

[@robinmabbott7334]

The reason NASA spat the dummy is that no High & mighty NASA bosses profited from them

[@liberty-matrix]

With the Starliner debacle, NASA's credibility is at an all time low.

[@Stealth86651]

Yeah, part of risk analysis is knowing what happens when you don't value employees properly. Unintelligent and poor decision by Nasa, especially considering it's not like they had hundreds of astronauts to cover.

[@QuantumConundrum]

You know, I was thinking about just this. I think part of the reason they acted this way is that they imagined some hypothetical world where there'd be 10000s of astronauts. I see why setting precedents is scary, they'd maybe have to cover much much more in the future compared to what they spent here. That being said, still seems very silly when compared to military operations.

[@alphagt62]

They spent $10 billion on the Apollo missions, and they couldn’t come up with a few thousand to cover their life insurance? Sounds like gross incompetence

[@DavoidJohnson]

Ironically, making money on the side has long been called " Moonlighting"

[@AltCutTV]

That reminds me of the similar soviet scandal when they fermented space-vodka for the market.

[@brianSalem541]

LOL that was a good one

[@RaceBanner_]

I inherited a Herrick cover, complete with a hand written bill of sale provenance. The demand for these covers continues to astound me.

[@asirithwelzorn5907]

The first Han Solo job

[@MikeinVirginia1]

Haha! Hans was a smuggler in the movie, right 😆

[@bennettlewis5495]

Thank you, Astrum! I had never heard about any of this before.

[@rodhinds4592]

What a trivial matter for NASA to be concerned about.

[@martinalladin8981]

The hypocrisy here is just breathtaking. You have members of the Supreme court, taking extravagant gifts , vacations, private jet rides, and cash from people to whom later they make a ruling on a case involving said subject. Then you have members of Congress engaging in what would be for anybody else insider trading. You have people like Marjorie Taylor Greene saying that people need to repay their loans when they were talking about student loan forgiveness and recently had a 1.3 million loan forgiven for her. Any member who has ever done anything for a lobbyist in my not so humble opinion has taken a bribe our government is dirty as hell I mean for god sakes one of the presidential candidates convicted felon and if he was anybody else he would be sitting in prison right now. So yeah as far as astronauts are concerned I think they deserve every dime they could get

[@AnyWayICan]

Be fair and mention Biden's influence peddling scheme he ran for decades. If he were anyone else....

[@Dr_Do-Little]

I'm tempted to believe none of this would had happened if Nasa had approved decent life insurance for the astronauts.

[@lght5548]

I remember when this happened and am familiar with much that has been published since. This expose is very thorough and contains new information I was unaware of. Well done....as usual.👍

[@juzeus9]

*i see the ministry of truth is hard at work.*

[@rockwoodoneforever7732]

He didn't 'goof,' he knew exactly what they were, and the crew refused the payments only after the scandal broke. The only reason Worden was 'outraged' was because he got caught. Even if they weren't supposed to be released or sold until after he passed, his heirs would have still received the money.

[@MajorTomFisher]

This feels like the plot of a Star Trek Voyager filler episode

[@primeral]

Hey, I loved Tuvix

[@joenoneofyourbusiness6487]

this whole scandal was a nothingburger. What a silly thing for them to make a fuss about. It really points out that they weren't getting paid that much for such risky work. Probably another reason why they chose primarily military pilots for these missions.

[@oatlord]

Wut? Nasa stopped offering them life insurance? That's the real scandal here.

[@timeformyownaccount]

How did they film the departure of the moonlander fróm the moon???? Including the movement of the camera!

[@CitizenRobertK]

Honestly, I'm not sure I can muster the energy to care about astronauts having a side hustle. They aren't paid well enough for the risk they take every time they strap in. As long as the mission is completed, and no one is harmed (actual harm, not the garden-variety "veectim" nonsense), then I have no Fs to give.

[@Matt.Thompson.1976]

Thanks Alex! I appreciate your hard work and dedication to us, and this channel. Cheers from Northen California.

[@ardidsonriente2223]

The absolute lack of prioritization skills is astonishing. What the crew did was wrong and deserved some kind of punishment. That is ok. But parking fully trained experts with real space travel experience, diminishing all the invaluable work done and putting all the scientific endeavor at risk because a bunch of stamps and bad press... that is absolute idiocy. Even a soccer team knows better how to value, manage and protect their players.

[@yedabocaletto95]

You are great!

[@DaleBladez]

Maaaaan I heard contraband I figured it was snowing in the Apollo 11 lmao

[@musa7606]

Only in the White House :)

[@willywayne5299]

They found COKE in Sleepy Joes White House,and nothing was done about it,talk about corrupt!

[@TheEarl777]

Thanks Alex. I’m a 52-year-old kiwi space fanatic and had never heard that story before. But talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill. They all should have been allowed a certain amount of profit as an added bonus for the most risky job ever.

[@DEonaraR]

Imagine finding yourself in 2024, having paid that much money for items that never were near the moon, that must be the most ironic moment of anyone's life!!!!

[@MBSfilms77]

1:27 I thought you said he was from the same region as “iron man” 😂

[@jimmyzhao2673]

Omigosh. Iron Man is _all I hear_ whenever his name is said.

[@pirx9798]

Dude's name translates to "Egg man"

[@Eric_Nielsen]

When I lived near the Cape in 2014-15, Al Worden was a frequent 'Astronaut in Residence' at the KSC Visitors Center. I spoke with him several times. While he was friendly, he also always seemed a little unhappy. Maybe this stamp business was a reason why.

[@musa7606]

Sounds like NASA should have changed their rules to allow the astronauts to profit off their dangerous missions...

[@JarkkoToivonen]

Thanks Alex for informative and great video, I knew already of Apollo missions bootleg and classified documents sales but not this much of information you have. What a shameful doings by so many (ex) astronauts ☹️

[@AlterKnochen]

A little bit Cannabis in the hole? Have fun! 🤣

[@AZAce1064]

My wife and I are surprised and saddened by NASA denying life insurance to the astronauts. It makes us feel that NASA didn’t put total faith into their mission.

[@palindrome1959]

Personally, I think it was much ado about nothing. When you look back at some of the really bad scandals of that time, it really was nickle and dime stuff.

[@chuckz2934]

Excellent piece Alex !!

[@TheArgusPlexus]

They call THAT a scandal? 😂 People back then would've had a literal fuckin heart attack over today's scandals. That's just a baby scandal. They could've afforded to fall back and calm down while they were busy being so self righteous.

[@wavion2]

People still had morals back then.

[@DEE-o4v]

If you shafted me on life insurance, I'd shaft you back. One time at at my big company meeting, they announced they weren't going to pay for health insurance or at least offer you a reduced group rate after you retired. I stood up and let them have it. I said to the audience, "For those of you who are NOW no longer going to be covered, I suggest you THINK TWICE about all that FREE OVERTIME you give this place..." I then sat down and some people started clapping. I didn't get in trouble..but you could tell that many employees were very mad at the company.

[@kevinsmith7287]

So, I'm still perplexed as to why NASA says, "we STILL can't send astronauts through the Van Alen belt."

[@JW-mb6tq]

They don’t exactly say that. The details matter. They planned a course that minimized exposure.

[@kevinsmith7287]

@@JW-mb6tq Yet there is a video of a NASA guy saying, and explaining, that they quote, "still can't send a human through it".

[@JW-mb6tq]

@@kevinsmith7287 find and watch the whole interview. It’s a context thing.

[@exist7309]

Check out the planned route for Polaris Dawn.

[@wacojones8062]

@@exist7309 Good science with Polaris Dawn. My mom took 27 RAD exposure working for 18 moths at Mayo clinic making Radon seeds in gold tubes for early cancer research. Pre waldo all hand work around massive lead blocks using mirrors to watch what their hands were doing.

[@AITCHESSPEE]

Astrum, you are on fire lately.

[@jstretch]

What is more disturbing is Operation Paperclip.. Just saying..

[@mrhassell]

Excellent sentiments! Who would have thought, such a conscientious view in an Astronomy programme?

[@henrytroll3439]

So? No insurance? WTF

[@JoannaLee-m2v]

Every sixty seconds you spend angry, upset or mad, is a full minute of happiness you will never get back.

[@Supernova-270]

Fun fact nasa once proposed to nuke the moon to assert dominance over the ussr

[@pikaskew]

It’s amazing how much the U.S. has changed since then. Present day there would be much lass pushback on this as self interest has taken more of a front seat as a mindset. It’s good to hear NASA still holds up the standards however.

[@hpmmiggie]

A fantastically video about a subject that I had no idea about. Well done and thanks! -ps What accent is Astrum(q) I cant place it anywhere.

[@rorywest4937]

Sounds like some type of Asian, it reminds me of Singaporean, but a bit different 🤔

[@bartekes8852]

No life insurance? That was new fact for me. Wow.

[@reeyees50]

Dumbest drama on the planet, they literally commited no crime. No wonder why they lost the settlement decades later.

[@NigelDixon1952]

A great presentation, thanks so much. How about making a video on why NASA can't seem to get astronauts back on the moon, when they so easily managed it way back in the 60s/70s, with only a few years experience in space?

[@wandapease-gi8yo]

The money they were to get for the Seiger covers seems to me mean they really weren’t in this for money

[@wordsmith451]

So instead of being greedy pricks, they were just absolute morons.

[@Akash-uq8wg]

i can't believe i never knew aboit this. Thanks Astrum

[@dochollidxy2192]

I've heard of getting 'sky high' but if there's some drugs on the list that'll be a new high highhhhhh

[@javeedsultan8484]

Why am I not surprised An employer is an employer regardless of who they are That's disgusting

[@taproom113]

It's actually much worse than you've described. In addition to the Apollo 15 postal stamp scandal ... Dave Scott accepted an offer from Bulova for money if he could arrange to wear one of their watches while on the moon. However, he could only do this if the NASA approved Omega SpeedMaster he was issued failed somehow. On the second day, he reported his SpeedMaster crystal had failed and so proceeded to wear the Bulova on the moon, achieving the goal of his contract. To explain the rigorous testing NASA used to find the best watch made ... they tested many watches to their breaking point to determine which was best suited for the stresses expected during the missions. The last two standing, were Omega and Rolex. Both watches passed the established test criteria, which far exceeded the maximum stress the watches were ever expected to experience. They then continued to test well beyond the maximum limits until the Rolex failed and the Omega did not. So consider this, in the history of the Apollo program, only one Omega has ever 'failed' ... it just so happened to belong to the one-and-only astronaut who had a morally corrupt contract to wear another manufacturers watch, by any means necessary. Coincidence? Forget the stamp fiasco ... this act by Scott was well beyond disgraceful. He intentionally sabotaged a NASA instrument so he could financially benefit from doing so. In my opinion, this intentional dishonorable act destroyed any good the man had ever done previously and has permanently stained his reputation beyond repair.

[@musa7606]

If you think that's the most corrupt thing a government employee ever did... :) "However, he could only do this if the NASA approved Omega SpeedMaster he was issued failed somehow." Why didn't they just give him another Speedmaster? Fun Fact: Bulova now sells its own "moon watch".

[@brucewayne5342]

⁠@@musa7606 “why didn’t they just give him another sSpeedmaster?” Because at that point they were on the Moon, dingus

[@musa7606]

@@brucewayne5342 So he brought the Bulova and the Speedmaster with him, dingus?

[@spindoctor6385]

Over react much? The guy made a few dollars on the side. Do you have a minute silence every year out of respect for the family of the Omega watch?

[@Persistence_run_444]

Considering our SCOTUS is bought and paid for.

[@davidwestfall4336]

NASA was jealous the astronauts might make a little pocket $. The only worry about such items is: Will it explode? Or, Does it weigh so much they'll run out of fuel?

[@teemoore4967]

Operation paper clip .. they had to spectate the launch...😂

[@intrstrnr]

Astrum keeps talking about how this "Scandal" over shadowed an otherwise successful mission. I'm 51 years old and have heard all about the Apollo missions throughout the years but this is literally the first time I'm hearing about this "scandal'. Maybe, and I'm speculating here, maybe the successful mission over shadowed the scandal in time? Either way this video didn't move me to subscribe, especially if he's prone to making mountains out of molehills.

[@Alexander1005]

Small potatoes. The next batch of lunar astronauts will have OnlyFans accounts.

[@MarcoRoepers]

Great story with everything in it. Heroism, temptation, fall and tragedy.

[@Virtueman1]

So they figured out how to make some money in space. Good for them, and for the buyers. Should have been allowed.

[@constabul]

Lol, unironically, two Germans go to watch a nasa rocket launch....😂😂

[@SEKHAR-EL]

Everything is scam

[@rensocruz1866]

Great video 👍

[@ViktorCZ42]

I like asian food