What do you think about the shuttles Challenger and Discovery? Did one really explode on lift-off and the other burn up on re-entry?

There's a reason I ask. Those events and this one have a surprising number of similarities.
  • Dramatic events with worldwide coverage.
  • Loss of life.
  • Live TV coverage.
  • Huge government investigations with:
    • Some finger-pointing.
    • Evidence of beureaucrats ignoring warnings.
    • Recommendation for reforms, some of which were enacted.


Oh, and one other thing: Some people don't believe any of it happened. There are people who believe -- or profess to believe -- that the entire space program is a fraud. They write books and websites claiming to "debunk" the "lies". Do you agree with these people?

If you think that those people are nutters, but you are rational, consider one of the most compelling arguments against what they say: Just how many people would have to be lying for the fraud to be perpetuated?

Your pet conspiracy theory is in for a rougher road than the NASA-is-a-fraud one, though. There's one key ingredient a good conspiracy theory needs that yours is sorely lacking: the people in a position to know aren't talking. At least when it comes to NASA, while there are thousands of people who worked on various projects, there are only a couple of dozen who claim they were actually on the moon, and the ones who don't were still on the payroll. But people who saw the planes hit the towers are all over the damn place.