Re: Apollo One, the FBI, and Scott Grissom

From: LaDonna Wyss (hpywife927_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 06/06/04 

Date: 6 Jun 2004 07:48:59 -0700

Jonathan Silverlight <jsilverlight@spam.merseia.fsnet.co.uk.invalid> wrote in message news:<oaKa11PerfwAFwuI@merseia.fsnet.co.uk>...
> In message <4821518f.0406050517.2cdb15fe@posting.google.com>, LaDonna
> Wyss <hpywife927@yahoo.com> writes
> >derekl1963@nospamyahoo.com (Derek Lyons) wrote in message
> >news:<40c517d8.2945128@supernews.seanet.com>...
> >> hpywife927@yahoo.com (LaDonna Wyss) wrote:
> >> >But the media doesn't take the time to jump through the hoops I
> >> >did; they have ready-for-TV stories every minute of every day.
> >>
> >> Which does nothing to prevent the accumulation of data to generate a
> >> story. (It also ignore the fact that TV is far, far from the only
> >> news outlet.)
> >>
> >> >Ask any professional journalist these days (I have) and they will tell you
> >> >ready-made stories are the rule in this era of 24-hour "instant" news.
> >>
> >> I suspect that thousands of newspaper journalists across the country
> >> will assert accurately that you are a liar. Their brethern working
> >> for the weeklies and monthlies will concur in this I think. As do I.
> >>
> >> D.
> >
> >I am quoting almost verbatim the president of a national news-tip
> >service with whom I have been working on this very issue. I have
> >things in the works about which you have no clue. The fact is, unless
> >it is "instant news", the only way to get a story to television is
> >through print media, and given the age of the story you are talking
> >about a handful of papers that would even be willing to consider the
> >idea. After that, it takes MONTHS for them to go back and confirm all
> >of the data I've compiled. So, as much as I would like, you will not
> >be seeing Apollo One on Fox News just yet. But you will.
>
> How long did Woodward and Bernstein work on the Watergate story ? (this
> is a genuine inquiry - I'm curious and don't know the answer) The Apollo
> 1 story was a lot bigger. When did the conspiracy theories start?

I think it was over a year, but it's been a while since I reviewed
"All the President's Men", and I was in my early teens when it
happened so I wasn't exactly glued to the news. As for the
"conspiracy theories", as with all conspiracy theories undoubtedly
they began almost immediately, especially when the original
"investigation" turned into a Good-Old-Boy's Network. Have you read
the Congressional Record? The night Al Shepard, Deke Slayton, Wally
Schirra, Jim McDivott and Frank Borman walked in to testify they were
greeted with CHEERS AND APPLAUSE! Do you know any
FBI/CIA/police/Secret Service/sheriff etc. who would start an
interview with a witness/suspect by bending over and kissing his
behind????
However, this is not a conspiracy theory. It is simple fact. OM
asked for the following information, but he has proven himself to be
such an idiot I refuse to answer the one-out-of-two-hundred posts
where he actually asks an intelligent question. Here is the list of
lies from the Record (and it's incomplete; I have more to add):
1) Dr. Robert Van Dolah, Research Director for the Explosive Research
Center, Bureau of Mines, Dept. of the Interior, states twice that the
dump valves (which vent the cabin air, reducing cabin pressure and
removing most of the oxygen) were in the closed position, meaning
Commander Grissom did not vent the cabin air (Page 36, last paragraph;
Page 41 second question and answer.) In fact, the person who
inspected those valves (Astronaut John L. Swigert, Jr.) said in his
report the valves were so badly damaged he could not tell what
position they were in, an assessment confirmed by the Review Board's
fire expert, Dr. Pinckle (source: National Archives.) Additionally,
both the Review Board and Congress ignored 102 pages of witness
statements by technicians present on the launch pad who all swore they
heard that relief. Not only are those statements in the Congressional
Record, but I have interviewed many of those technicians; the relief
was a sound they heard on almost a daily basis, with which they were
well-familiar, and they swear to this day they heard it. But pure
logistics show that NASA's claim is nonsense.
According to the Review Board, a "wall of flames" prevented Grissom
from hitting the dump valves. That claim is based on tests conducted
by setting other command modules on fire in an attempt to duplicate
the fire pattern. The fire in the crew compartment began in the Left
Hand Lower Equipment Bay (LHLEB), to the left of the Commander's left
foot. When the fire hit the cabin oxygen, it swept fro to aft and
left to right. The dump valves are located to the left and above
Grissom's left upper arm (he was lying at a 170 degree angle on his
back.) If he were unable to hit the dump valves mere moments after
the fire began, then how was he able, 18.5 seconds into the fire, to
reach the T-handle to the Translation Controller located above his
left elbow, and the Thrust Vector Control switch on Panel 24, located
to the left side of his upper left leg? (Sources: National Archives;
Congressional Record)
2) In reference to the Launch Escape Vehicle (LEV), Col. Borman
stated, "The escape motor was safetied." (Page 84, halfway down.) He
implied it was safetied throughout the test, but the evidence
indicates otherwise. Dick Bachand and Dick Hagar (SpaceCraft
Operators and first investigators of the Command Module after the crew
was removed) both had questions about how the pyro panel got pulled
out (reference Congressional Record), and how the screws to that panel
remained in a neat pile on the CM floor. Further, part of the
Plugs-Out Test procedure is to arm both the pyro and logic buses, and
to take readings from those buses. How is that possible without Panel
150 (the pyro panel?) (Sources: Crew Checklist, voice transcript,
and personal interviews.) Further, according to the statement of J.C.
Mooney, Assistant Fire Chief, when he asked the Test Conductor the
status of the LEV, "He informed me that they could not shut off
spacecraft power since it was on internal power and that the Launch
Escape System was armed." (Source: National Archives)
The data from the fire itself presents a disturbing scene. At the
time the fire reached the crew compartment, the spacecraft was
receiving numerous gimbal torque motor signals; the pitch and yaw
accelerometers on the LEV were oscillating (also sensing displacement
in the platform); the Stabilization and Control System (SCS) was
oscillating in roll, pitch, and yaw; the Reaction Control System (RCS)
was receiving jet driver activation commands in all 16 flight
directions. At 12.4 and 13.6 seconds into the fire, Roger Chaffee
switched the entry batteries over to the main batteries, converting
the spacecraft over to internal power. By doing so, Chaffee also
completed and engaged the Emergency Detection System (EDS.)
Note: The EDS can and does trigger aborts in the event of an
emergency. Those aborts may be performed either manually or
automatically. When an abort is initiated, the LEV rocket blasts the
Command Module away from the launch pad where it is then jettisoned,
and the crew (still inside the CM) splash down in the Atlantic Ocean.
Seventeen seconds into the fire two events occurred simultaneously.
The Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) received both a Program Check Fail
and an Error Detect Fail message. These are abort failures. They
trigger a Guidance and Navigation warning, two Master Caution and
Warning, and two DSKY (display keyboard) lights. At 18.5 seconds Gus
Grissom did something NASA claims perplexes them (Source: Review Board
Investigative Items.) He grabbed the T-handle to the Translation
Controller, rotated it 360 degrees clockwise, and switched Thrust
Vector Control "on" (source: National Archives.) This engages manual
attitude control, bypassing the AGC.
It must be noted that once an auto abort has been triggered, the EDS
cannot simply be turned off. There is a failsafe built in so that
once initiated, in the event of an electrical failure an abort will
continue (Source: Apollo Operations Handbook.) The only way to stop
it is to switch to manual attitude control.
One other item of significance: When the Command Module was inspected
after the fire, it was noted the BMAG switch (Body Mounted Attitude
Gyros) had been turned off late into the fire. (Note: It is not
necessary to switch off the BMAGs in order to go manual.) This
information was of such interest that Astronaut Stu Roosa ordered
close-ups of the photograph showing this switch, and the FBI took a
fingerprint for analysis (Source: National Archives.) NASA said the
switch must have been turned off by technicians after the fire, for
some unknown reason. But according to the Apollo Operations Handbook,
in the event of a G&N failure the BMAGs serve as a back-up, continuing
to send error messages to the AGC. If Commander Grissom were trying
to avoid an auto abort by going manual (which is the only explanation
for his action), he would have been wasting his time had he NOT turned
off the BMAGs. Unfortunately, neither the FBI nor NASA has given me
the results of the fingerprint analysis.
3) In reference to the odor Gus detected when he hooked up to his suit
loop, Borman said, "We did not identify the specific substance that
would have caused that." (Page 107, first question and answer.)
There are two problems with that statement. First, according to the
Review Board's official version of events, the odor was identified by
the Bendix sampler as being of "human origin." That explanation is
preposterous. Lt. Col. Grissom was a Korean War combat pilot who flew
100 MiG missions as wingman and never lost a plan—not his own, not
anyone else's. In order to do so, a pilot must develop rather keen
senses, including olfactory senses. One would think a man with such
highly developed senses would be able to tell the difference between a
foreign substance and his own body odor!
However, the odor WAS identified, because the Pad Leader (Don Babbit)
also smelled it coming out of the hatch bleed port. It was potting
compound, used to seal the electrical connections. The fact it was
being detected by smell indicates something was warm (electrically)
from the time Gus ingressed.
4) Dr. Charles Berry made an unsolicited, defensive comment in his
testimony when he offered the following information, "In case anyone
has any other idea, this crew could not have been saved by the
presence of a doctor or anyone else. The situation was such that that
was not possible in this instance. I would like to make that very
clear." (Page 135, 2/3 of the way down.) Contrary to public opinion,
the crew did not burn up. In fact, their burns were completely
survivable. I've not seen all three autopsy reports, but I have read
Gus' in its entirety (he was the most badly injured of the three.)
The crew died of apoxia (lack of oxygen) with the second PRIMARY cause
of death being hemorrhagic pulmonary edema. There are many different
kinds of pulmonary edema, but this type is semi-slow. It takes 15 to
20 minutes to develop, and it does not develop post-mortem. It is
basically internal bleeding of the lungs; as the air sacs lose oxygen,
the surrounding blood vessels leak blood into them. The person
basically bleeds to death. And Dr. Kelly (the flight surgeon) would
have know the instant he removed the first helmet NASA screwed up,
because all three men would have had blood coming from their noses,
mouths, and likely their ears. Because crews on the pad took the word
of a hysterical pad leader (Babbitt), it was assumed the crew was dead
without anyone ever taking a pulse. Crews got the hatch off, Babbitt
looked inside, didn't see anyone moving, and jumped to conclusions.
But the crew of Apollo One was still very much alive at that point,
fighting for their lives. What was necessary to reverse the effects
of apoxia and pulmonary edema? One simple thing. OXYGEN.
5) Dr. George Mueller, referring to Gus Grissom, said, "I think that
we have no evidence to indicate that the astronaut did leave the
couch." (Page 279, almost halfway down.) Would that include the fact
his body was not FOUND on his couch? According to Deke Slayton's
ORIGINAL statement (not the one printed in the Record), as well as Dr.
Kelly's original preliminary report, Gus was found lying across Ed's
couch (Source: National Archives.) (Note: Crew positions when they
were found indicate how far along they were in the egress procedure
when they lost consciousness.)
6) Dr. Berry told Congress, "The doctors were up at the hatch to look
inside at 6:45." According to the medical and security logs, as well
as the statements of the doctors, nurses, firefighters, and security
personnel, security decided doctors were not "essential personnel," so
they were held at the base of the tower and did not arrive at the
White Room until 7:02 (testimony page 311, first complete paragraph.)
7) Dr. Berry gives the following explanations for how long it took the
crew to die. I will list them both, then I will explain why neither
can be true. In the morning session he said the following, "The time
from inhaling carbon monoxide until it would reach the maximum
concentration in the blood in the lungs would be 2 to 2 ˝ seconds, in
5 seconds it would reach maximum concentration in the heart's blood
and in 6 seconds it would reach the maximum concentration in the
brain's blood" (Page 311, just past halfway.) His second statement
came in the evening session, "Therefore, we would have to estimate
that consciousness was lost, if it occurred, in a single breath after
this carbon monoxide level was such that they could inhale it, which
was estimated by the fire people and from our test to be around 30
<seconds>" (Page 362, 1/3 way down.)
Dr. Berry is leading Congress to believe that once Gus' suit was
breached the crew was breathing pure carbon monoxide. Not true.
Going back to Dr. Kelly's reports: All three crew members' air intake
hoses were virtually CLEAN. Remember Roger switched to internal power
to keep the suit compressor going. Any carbon monoxide being inhaled
was being diluted by 100% pure oxygen. Gus' autopsy report verifies
this. There was SOME soot in his lungs, but not in the amount you
would expect to see if they were inhaling pure fumes from the cabin.
It was the air OUTTAKE hoses that were filthy. The suit compressor
was doing its job. Yes, eventually they fell victim to carbon
monoxide, but it did not happen in any 6 seconds or even 30 seconds.
(Note: Gus' suit was breached at 16 seconds; Source: National
Archives.)
One other note: NASA told Congress it never analyzed the cabin air to
see what toxins were inhaled by the crew. This is true, but what is
interesting is WHY. According to Moonport, the lithium hydroxide
canisters (scrubbers) were to have been sent to MSFC on March 28 for
analysis. But they never were. According to the Test Prep Sheet,
they were supposed to have been sent, but someone deleted this item
from the list (Source: National Archives.) In other words, someone
decided NOT to have them analyzed (no name is mentioned.)
A final point on this topic: I'm still looking back through the
testimony to find out WHO said this, but someone said Ed's air intake
hose was found disconnected, implying he was receiving no air and
therefore would have collapsed quickly. Not true. Again, according
to Dr. Kelly's report (and he described the crew and equipment down to
the millimeter), the ONLY thing found disconnected was Gus' Cobra.
ALL of Ed's hoses were intact and connected.
(I won't list them as lies, but here are some other interesting
comments from Berry: He told Congressman Daddario that in his opinion
mouth-to-mouth would not have revived the crew and the attempt SHOULD
NOT EVEN HAVE BEEN MADE (Page 313, top.) Then, in discussing the
hatch design, he admits, "The suits were a great deal of protection"
(Page 323, 1/3 way down.) He further admitted, and it's verified in
the documents I have, that in reference to the thermal burns, "They
were not of sufficient magnitude to have caused death alone" (Page
320, bottom.)
8) In response to Congressman Ryan's question, "Who made the first cry
of ‘Fire'?", Dr. George Mueller replied, "One of the astronauts, and
that was not identified positively" (Page 332, bottom of the page.)
Bell Labs positively identified that first call as coming from Gus to
an accuracy of 100% (source: National Archives.) And, WHAT he said
and did are even more telling than the fact Gus was the one speaking:
He had opened his faceplate tenths of a second before the fire
breached the crew compartment, the third time within a twenty-minute
period that crew members opened their visors in a vain attempt to
smell the source of what I believe was smoke Roger reported seeing at
6:12. Keeping his faceplate open, he says, "Break…" followed by a
one-point-seven-second pause, followed by, "We've got a fire in the
cockpit." It is only after the completion of this transmission Gus
closes his visor.
Now I'm going to drink some coffee and wake up. By the way, if you
folks want to continue a good dialogue, is there any chance we can
stop breaking off into new threads? I'm having a hard enough time
keeping up with the posts (not complaining, but there IS OBVIOUSLY a
lot of interest in here) without having to go through nine different
threads.
(Humorous note: I may have to turn this into my new full-time job if
this keeps up! lol Again, I'm not complaining; it's great to see the
interest from those who are NOT stuck in their anal-retentive phase.)

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