All language subtitles for Truth.Behind.the.Moon.Landing.Series.1.Part.5.CIAs.Secret.Space.War.720p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVG

Three, two, one.

Launch.

Soviet russia scores
a dramatic victory.

The soviet union was
winning the race to space,

And the united states
was struggling to catch up.

I ask you, sir.

What are we going to do
about it?

After so many setbacks,
what lengths would the americans.

Go to to surpass
their superpower rival?

Seeing if they can
knock a russian satellite.

Out of orbit or completely
destroying a russian satellite.

So it sounds crazy.
It sounds like a movie plot.

Did the u.S. Military create.

An undercover astronaut program
to spy on the soviets?

Liftoff.

The whole idea was to
put one of the biggest cameras.

Ever created into
an orbiting space station.

That was totally secret.

The public had no knowledge
about that.

Wow.

And would the u.S. Go so far.

As to kidnap a soviet spacecraft
to obtain new technologies?

If there was ever any hint that
the soviets knew what happened,

You know the cia
never caught wind of it.

So it seems like they got away
with this epic, historic thing.

That is insane.

A former fbi agent,

A conspiracy theorist
and former aerospace consultant,

And an american astronaut
are investigating...

Captions by vitac...
www.Vitac.Com.

The "truth behind
the moon landing."

Captions paid for by
discovery communications.

The conspiracy theory
is alive and well,

And so is our investigation.

We've discovered
some surprising secrets.

Lurking at the edges
of the space race to the moon.

I believe that this
nation should commit itself.

To achieving the goal.

Before this decade is out
of landing a man on the moon.

And returning him safely
to the earth.

President john f. Kennedy boldly
challenged the united states.

And nasa to put a man on the
moon by the end of the decade.

The space race was on.

Yeah, and we were behind.

It would take much more
than president kennedy's dreams.

To get the u.S. To the moon
before the soviet union.

The u.S. Was trailing
far behind the soviets.

In the race to space.

Even before nasa had
opened its doors in 1958,

The ussr had already launched
sputnik into space,

The world's first
artificial earth satellite.

Mr. President, russia has
launched an earth satellite.

They also claim to have had
a successful firing.

Of the intercontinental
ballistic missile.

What are we going to
do about it?

Nasa didn't seem to have
the right stuff.

To develop the rocket technology.

To get to the moon
and leap past the soviets.

The united states
space effort takes a giant step.

As scientists and technicians
prepare to orbit enos,

A five-year-old chimpanzee,
around the earth.

That's why many
conspiracy theorists think.

There was a cover-up,

And we didn't actually land
on the moon in 1969.

How could we have caught up
to the soviets.

And beat them to the moon?

I mean, the russians have
already sent a man into space,

And we're still sending chimps.

The u.S. Had already
brought over

1,600 former nazi scientists
and engineers.

To work on military
and space programs.

It was clear that the u.S.
Wasn't playing games.

Would we use cold war
espionage tactics.

To gain an advantage
and catch up?

Mike and I are here at
the kgb museum in new york city.

To sit down with
astro journalist tariq malik.

He's editor-in-chief
of space.Com.

What's the craziest story.

About this period of time
we don't know?

The cia actually kidnapped
a soviet spacecraft.

To see how it ticked.

Wait, wait, wait. Kidnapped?

Yes. Okay, listen.

Give us more detail, please.

Yeah, yeah. So it sounds crazy.

It sounds like a movie plot.

Well, in 1959, you know,

The soviet union
was really riding high.

They had launched sputnik
and wowed the world.

They built the first spacecraft
to touch the moon...

Luna 1, also known
as the lunik program.

Soviet russia scores
a dramatic victory.

In the exploration of space.

With the launching of the first
rocket to hit the moon.

Western observers monitored
lunik's two radios.

To the very moment of impact.

They went on a global road show.

To show off their successes
to other countries,

To show just kind of how
far ahead that they were.

One of the exhibits that was
in this road show.

Was a lunik spacecraft.

The lunik wasn't just
some russian satellite.

It was the first man-made object
to ever reach the moon.

The lunik made impact
with the moon.

At a velocity of about
7,500 miles per hour.

At that point, the u.S. Thought
its guidance systems.

Were superior to the russians'.

But when the lunik
hit its target,

It proved that their
guidance systems were better.

The closest that
the united states.

Had ever gotten to the moon
was 37,000 miles away.

The lunik also made history by,
for the first time,

Photographing
the far side of the moon,

Which is not
viewable from earth.

So the cia think,
"this is the real deal."

And it would be nice
if we could actually.

"Get access to this thing,
if we could see how it ticks."

The more you know about
this spacecraft.

Or how much it weighs dry,

Then you can infer how much
it weighs with fuel on-board.

But they have this guard
that's there 24 hours a day,

Watching over this thing,

So how are you going
to get access to it?

So what was their plan?

They watched,
and they figured out.

That at the end of the exhibit,

When it's going to move
to a new location,

They can arrange for it
to get on.

The last truck out to the train.

And as it goes out,
they have a car in the front.

And a car in the back
to make sure the soviets.

Aren't following them
or caught wind of their plan.

And when they're confident,
then they pull the car over.

At the last turn-off
to the train station.

Tariq tells us that many of
the facts in this mission.

Have been redacted by the cia,
but the best we can tell,

This took place sometime
in mexico in 1959.

The driver was probably
a non-russian,

And the cia convinced him
to rest overnight.

At a hotel rather than drive on.

The cia had their own driver,

And they drove it to a scrapyard.

That they had rented out
just for this,

And they have
a whole team come in.

They had already been
watching this crate...

You know, it's one big crate...
On this truck.

They got to go in
through the roof.

They take their shoes off,
so they have just their socks on.

Because they don't want to leave
any footprints or evidence.

Behind that they're there.

At 7:00 at night, when they
think that the coast is clear,

They open up the top
of this crate,

They go inside,
they took it apart.

They kept a close record.
They have people with cameras.

They took a bunch of pictures,
and then they sent the film.

Back to the field office.

To make sure
the camera was working,

So that they wouldn't find out
they left the lens cap on later.

Or had a bad batch of film.

You don't take on a mission
like this.

Unless you're fully committed.

The risk of getting exposed
or caught would have been.

More significant in the cold war
than the actual intel itself.

So the details
they were looking for.

Must have been considered
very important.

They do that until 4:00
in the morning.

They put it back together again,

And then they put the lid
on the crate.

You know, woke up the driver.

That they had sequestered
overnight.

And just drove the lunik back
and left the truck there.

It seemed like no one
was the wiser,

But at the end of the day,
they had detailed information.

About what
this spacecraft looked like,

How it was put together,
what it weighed,

What the rocket they needed
to launch it,

And they could use
that information to infer.

So many other things
about the rocket.

It sounds insane.

Still, any way we could get new
and important information,

We had to do it.

And the americans did come away.

With the kind of
specific details.

They needed to send a spacecraft
to the moon,

Details like how much the lunik
weighed, how big it was,

And how much fuel
it had on board.

If there was ever any hint that
the soviets knew what happened,

You know,
the cia never caught wind of it,

So it seems like they got away.

With this kind of epic,
historic thing,

And we only found out
about it later.

When they declassified it
in the early 2000s.

Straight-up spy movie stuff,
right?

To conspiracy theorists,
this feeds into the idea.

That the americans had no choice.

But to resort to
a moon-landing hoax.

Because u.S. Space technology
just wasn't good enough.

They would say,
"that's why we had to go.

To desperate extremes."

We had to steal
russian information.

So, were there
other purposes to this.

Besides just the reconnaissance?

Yeah, it was very, very serious
in terms of actual warfare.

So they actually fired a cannon
in space.

They... they fired
a cannon in space.

Here at the kgb museum
in new york city,

It's been amazing to discover
the details.

Of the secret american
space espionage plot.

So far, what we've heard
seems to be proof.

That the u.S. Was far behind
the soviet union.

In developing the technology
to land a man on the moon.

So the americans had to resort
to desperate measures.

Conspiracy theorists think
that one of those measures.

Was to cover up that we couldn't
actually pull off.

A moon landing.

Mike and I are here to sit down.

With intelligence expert
james bamford.

He is the author of three books.

About the united states
national security agency.

We want to find out to
what lengths the u.S. Would go.

To win the race to the moon.

And whether they had
a secondary objective...

To militarize space.

The u.S. And, at the time,
soviet space program...

There was this competition.

To see
who would get to the moon,

But it was not
just a space race.

It was kind of like a space war.

Yeah, there were two space races.

That went on largely
in the '60s.

The space race that everybody
saw on television...

Astronauts going up to space,
building satellites,

Ticker tape parades,
and then going to the moon.

That's one small step for man...

But besides that,

The u.S. Was basically at war
with russia.

In terms of intelligence.

Were these space war programs
known to the public.

And other government agencies?

Did nasa even know about them?

No, they were totally secret.

The public saw the astronauts,
but what they didn't see.

Were these other astronauts
that were being trained.

This is kind of shocking to me,
I mean,

To have a whole separate secret
kind of space program.

With separate astronauts
is amazing.

They weren't even allowed
to tell their family.

That they were training
as astronauts.

And they spent a large part
of the 1960s.

Training to be
secret astronauts.

Now, what was that program?

That was the m.O.L. Program...

Manned orbiting laboratory
program.

The manned orbiting
laboratory would have been.

A space station
orbiting the earth.

It would have been 72 feet long,

10 feet in diameter,

And weighed close
to 32,000 pounds.

That's about a third of the size.

Of the modern day
international space station.

Two astronauts would fly
into the station.

In a modified version
of the gemini space capsule.

They would dock with
the laboratory.

And stay there for 40 days.

It had two sides.

You can't really do this
totally in secret,

So you had to have
sort of a cover for it.

I am today instructing
the department of defense.

To immediately proceed
with the development.

Of a manned orbiting laboratory.

The cover was this laboratory
that they would put in space.

To see how military people
actually survive in space.

This program will bring us
new knowledge.

About what man
is able to do in space.

That was all nonsense.

The manned orbiting
laboratory...

The whole idea was to put
one of the biggest cameras.

Ever created into
an orbiting space station.

And take pictures of russia
very close up.

That was totally secret.

The public had no knowledge
about that.

Wow.

So were there
other purposes to this.

Besides just the reconnaissance?

I mean,
was that m.O.L. Program...

Was that involved in
anything, like, nefarious?

Yeah. The u.S., in addition to.

Just putting the m.O.L. Up there
to spy on russia...

It also looked into experiments,

Seeing if we could actually
kidnap a russian satellite.

Wrap their satellite
in a heat shield.

And put a pack on it
that could be remotely operated.

That would send it out of orbit
and back down to earth.

The other things were seeing
if they could knock.

A russian satellite out of orbit.

Or completely
destroying a russian satellite.

Wow.

Those were some of the options
that they were looking for.

It's just like... it's crazy.

Seems bunk. Yeah.

He's telling us
of space combat plans.

It wasn't about only landing
on the moon.

The u.S. Needed to establish
dominance over russia.

By militarizing space, too.

Was this actually done?

It wasn't done, but it was
actually contemplated.

The russians found out
about the plans,

So they tried
to make countermeasures.

They were building a very
similar space station to m.O.L.

It was called almaz,

And they armed their space
station with an actual cannon.

So they actually fired a cannon
in space?

They fired a cannon in space.

They fired a bullet.

If it hadn't hit an asteroid
or a planet,

It's still going someplace...

Wow... Out there.

The soviets were shooting
cannons in space.

The u.S. Wanted to
have astronauts grab satellites.

The space war was filled
with truly insane ideas.

What did this program
ultimately lead to?

I mean, what was the legacy
of m.O.L.?

The major legacy, I think,
was training.

Some of these people to go up
as astronauts in the m.O.L.

They spent a lot of time
training to be astronauts.

Certain technologies that
were developed...

The camera.

The camera was very, very useful
because some of the same optics.

That they used for the m.O.L.
Went into the optics.

That they put into
later reconnaissance spacecraft,

Plus signals intelligence,
what nsa does, eavesdropping.

So we had satellites to spy
on russia.

The americans couldn't beat
the soviets in technology,

So they had to resort
to covert measures.

The cold war pretty much
handcuffed the u.S.

Americans were splitting
their focus into,

A... going to the moon,
and b... militarizing space.

If we were going to fight
the russians,

The next war front was likely
to be in zero gravity.

Because of this rivalry
that's taking place.

Between the united states
and the soviet union,

The future belongs
to one nation or the other.

Science and technology
defines the future.

Our investigation heads
back to washington, d.C.,

Where leland and I meet with
former nasa chief historian

Roger launius.

Roger, how are you? Hi.

Chad jenkins. Good to see you.

Hi, roger. I'm leland melvin.

How you doing? Alright.

Roger's going to fill us in.

On how the soviets'
superior rocket technology.

Developed a massively
powerful vehicle.

Designed to get them to the moon
before the united states.

Prevailing wisdom at the time.

Was if we were going to beat
the soviets to the moon,

We had to start doing
what they were doing,

And that meant
building big rockets.

The soviet union had a very
aggressive program early on.

Notable for some of
the really tremendous successes.

That sort of got
the space age rolling.

And for americans,
we looked at that,

And we thought, "my gosh."

They're so good
at what they're doing."

Can you give us an idea of what
the goals were of the soviets.

And how badly did they want
to get to the moon?

Well, the fundamental goal
was to best the americans.

Because of this
larger geopolitical rivalry.

That's taking place
between the united states.

And the soviet union over the
political and economic systems.

That were going
to dominate the world.

I do not regard the first man
in space.

As a sign of the weakening
of the free world.

The future belongs to one nation
or the other.

Science and technology
defines the future.

But I do regard the mobilization
of the communist bloc.

Over the last years as a source
of great danger to us.

Whoever leads the world
in those things.

Is going to take
a leading role in the world.

As americans, when we think
about the cold war,

We think about things like
the cuban missile crisis,

The proliferation
of nuclear weapons.

People building bomb shelters
in their backyards.

It would be a good idea
to secure plans.

For the type of shelter
you want.

But the space race was
a major part of the cold war,

Especially with developments.

On the scientific
and technological fronts.

Gemini 8 has brought us
closer to lunar exploration.

By demonstrating the first
successful dock in space.

Whichever country
landed on the moon first.

Could claim
worldwide superiority.

The u.S. Space program
by nasa... civilian driven.

What was the soviet equivalent?

Was that by civilians
or was it more.

Under a cloak of secrecy
and the military?

Yeah, the soviet program
was all military.

The program was under
the control of the red army.

The russian orbits were in
a thick fog of secrecy.

The united states
stands or falls.

In the white-hot glare
of worldwide publicity.

So what were the big differences.

Between the soviet program
and the nasa program?

Well, there were
conflicting priorities.

All the way
through the soviet program.

If you talked to the generals,
they want ballistic missiles,

And so, if you're going to put
efforts into rocketry,

Let's make sure we build
good ballistic missiles.

And have good warheads
to put on top of them.

They don't care about
putting a cosmonaut.

Into earth orbit necessarily.

Right.

That comes largely from
the kremlin leadership.

Who view it not as something
again about exploring space,

Because they didn't care
much about that,

But they did care
about the propaganda value.

Propaganda was already
the backbone.

Of the soviet government
and military.

Now the soviets wanted the world
to think.

They were number one
in the space race,

But propaganda
only gets you so far.

You still need to deliver.

In the case of space,

That meant focusing on
developing rockets to get there,

And not just adapting
weaponized missile technology.

For space exploration.

Who was the soviets'
point person to lead the charge?

Sergei korolev.

If there's one central character.

That's there all the way
through, it's korolev.

In the 1940s and '50s,
his team was able to build.

The first ballistic missiles
for the soviet union.

That naturally turned
into a process.

To build space exploration
vehicles as well.

And he was able to sort of
hold things.

Together through
the early part of the 1960s.

The soviets and korolev
put their efforts.

Into the development of a large,

Super-heavy lift vehicle
they called the n1.

This was the rocket that
the soviets planned to use.

To send a manned spacecraft
to the moon.

The n1 was 32 stories tall.

It weighed 3,030 tons.

60 feet in diameter.

The n1's first stage.

Was the most powerful
rocket stage ever built.

It delivered more than
14,000 kilonewtons of thrust.

That's more than any rocket
in the world at that time.

The n1 was built by
sergei korolev's company,

The s.P. Korolev rocket
and space corporation,

Which was already manufacturing
ballistic missiles at the time.

Nasa tried to follow their lead.

And started work on their own
equivalent of the n1.

There was an american effort
called nova,

Which was going to be
a big rocket.

That would enable us to do
a direct descent to the moon.

A liquid hydrogen/
liquid oxygen engine.

For initial use in the second.

And third stages
of the nova program for nasa.

Will have a thrust
of 1,200,000 pounds.

The u.S. Was already
a couple of years behind.

We had to play catch up
to the massive rocket.

The soviets had built.

The united states worked on the
nova rocket from 1959 to 1962.

The rocket would have
been powered by the f-1 engine.

With its 1.5 million pounds
of thrust.

But we gave up.

It was too complicated and would
take too long to accomplish.

In April 1961,
when president kennedy announced.

That he wanted a man
on the moon before 1970,

Nasa felt the nova
could not be developed in time.

Because it would require.

Building new
manufacturing facilities.

This is another reason
conspiracy theorists.

Don't believe we could have
landed a man on the moon.

How could we eventually
build a proper rocket.

To get there
if we abandon building.

A powerful, large rocket?

Let's see what testing
we were doing out here.

We got to get to the remnants
of that rocket engine.

There's got to be
something underground.

Watch yourself.

Wow.

In the early 1960s,

The soviets was way ahead
in the space race.

What we heard from
our soviet space expert.

Was that the russians
were all in.

First great success in space.

When the russians pushed
a man across the threshold.

He was yuri gagarin,

The astronaut
the russians lionized.

As the first to orbit the earth.

The u.S. Was still
far behind the soviets,

And that's why
conspiracy theorists think.

The u.S. Tried to cover up
their lack of technology.

Now it is time for this nation.

To take a clearly leading role
in space achievement.

If you want an example
of how far behind.

The u.S. Was in the space race,

We should head down
to an abandoned.

Rocket testing facility
in the florida everglades.

It's proof we were trailing
in the race to the moon.

Wait a minute.
Are we going to the swamp?

Pack your bags.

Leland and I are heading to
the former.

Aerojet dade
rocket testing compound,

Outside homestead, florida.

Aerojet-general was
a rocket-and-missile.

Propulsion manufacturer.

That employed over 33,000 people
across the united states.

In 1963, the u.S. Air force
awarded aerojet.

A $3 million contract.

To build a manufacturing
and testing site.

Where they would test
the effectiveness of,

In particular,
solid fuel rockets.

From aerojet's beginning,
chemical research.

Has been pressed
without intermission.

Creation of propellent formulae.

Progressively
increasing rocket power.

Is one primary objective
of the chemical division,

The largest group
of chemical-research people.

In the missile industry.

In order to conduct these tests,

They built a 150-foot-deep
underground silo.

That housed the largest
solid-fuel rocket motor.

Ever built.

We need to get an up-close
look at that rocket silo.

And show how nasa was still
toying with technologies.

The soviets
had already moved past.

Man, there is nothing out here.

That's where you want
a rocket test facility.

"Authorized personnel only."

This has got to be it. Yeah.

Let's try it.

"No admittance" signs.

It's desolate. It's remote.

It's got high power lines, so
this could be our rocket place.

I see a building
over to the left.

Early on in
the race to the moon,

Nasa thought solid-fuel rockets
were the way to get to the moon.

Solid fuel, while not
as efficient as liquid fuel,

Was much more stable
and easier to execute.

Nasa had been having
more success.

With their early
solid-fuel testing,

Even though the soviets
already knew liquid fuel.

Was the way to go.

Now, there are basically
two types of rocket fuel.

Solid-fuel rockets
consist of a fuel.

And an oxidizer that are
pre-mixed in a solid form.

Once ignited, though,
you can't control the thrust.

Or turn it off.

On the other hand,
liquid-fuel rockets.

Consist of fuel
and oxygen in liquid state.

Both the original titan I
engines using liquid oxygen.

And rp-1 fuel
and the advanced titan ii.

Using storable
liquid propellants.

They're combined
in a combustion chamber.

And then ignited.

The advantage is you can control
the fuel flow,

Regulate the amount of thrust,
and turn the rocket off and on.

It's more complex,
but much more efficient.

Alright, so we've got to get
to the building.

Where there might be remnants
of that rocket engine.

Supposedly, you could see
the flames from 30 miles away.

I mean, in the blast,
you know, coming out,

You would want it back
far enough away.

From the road
and other buildings,

So maybe this cluster
of buildings right here?

And we'll check this building
out first.

Teamwork.

Let's see what testing
we were doing out here.

Nasa and aerojet conducted.

Three solid-fuel rocket tests.

Here between 1965 and 1967.

Now under study are solid
propellant rockets.

Of equal or greater thrust.

The florida everglades
was the site of the test firing.

Of a powerful
solid-fuel rocket motor.

Their first test here
generated an impressive.

Three million pounds of thrust,

More than enough to get
the 100,000-pound

Apollo payload off the ground.

Their second test
reportedly generated even more.

Watch yourself.

Yes, sir.

Look at this hardware, man.
This is all dilapidated.

And these concrete
pillars here...

It's almost like
they held something here.

See those bolts right there
on the corners?

Yeah.
Like they may have had maybe.

A strap that came over
and held down...

I mean, this could be
an engine casing.

That's been held down
right here.

Do you think anything
could be underground right here?

I don't know.
We have to keep looking.

Look. It gets deep.

Yeah, look at all these pipes.

So those conduits...
You can actually see some wire.

Coming out
of some of that conduit.

Right.

Maybe going to a test item
or a piece of hardware.

Let's try to find another way
into that area.

Okay.

Wow.

Another dead end.

I mean, if you're doing
underground testing,

It's more contained than
if you were above ground.

Right.

Whoa.

My goodness. Look at this.

These are rocket engine motors.

This is where they were
burning those rockets.

Yeah.

These are some huge rocket
engines they were burning.

Yeah.

In fact, this was
the sl-3 test rocket,

The largest solid-fuel
rocket engine ever built.

It was 10 stories high,
21 feet in diameter.

The walls of the silo
are four feet thick to withstand.

The blast of this gargantuan
rocket engine.

I mean, this was an attempt
to develop a big rocket.

That could maybe
get us to the moon.

By 1967 and after
the third test at aerojet,

Nasa had finally figured out
how to successfully use.

The more efficient
liquid-fuel rocket,

And they stopped pursuing
the solid-fuel option.

Two short years later,

After the government funding
dried up,

Aerojet abandoned the facility.

And testing
with solid-fuel rockets.

We can see for ourselves.

That the u.S. Tested
solid-fuel rockets here.

And shut down the facility.

Because our scientists
and engineers figured out.

That the solid-fuel approach
wasn't going to work.

We just walked away
and left the remains.

Some technology pans out.
Some doesn't.

Right. This wasn't the path.

Our trip to
the florida everglades.

Was pretty interesting.

Snakes and alligators?

No alligators,
but it was a workout.

This guy had me climbing
through these underground silos.

In that silo, we found remnants
of a massive rocket engine.

That they tested,

But it was abandoned
for a reason.

Nasa went with a different
rocket technology,

So they closed down the site.

To me, this is just
further evidence.

Of how far behind the americans
were in the space race.

Soviets had already
committed to liquid fuel,

And we were still
wasting our time.

Comparing liquid to solid fuel.

It's no wonder
conspiracy theorists think.

The u.S. Couldn't have really
made it to the moon.

With apollo 11.

If americans were still trying
to decide on what fuel to use,

Couldn't they have been behind
on the rest of the technology.

Needed to actually land
on the moon?

How could the americans surpass.

The technologically superior
soviet union?

Alright. Everybody ready?

I'm ready.

So is a bigger rocket like the
russians' n1 necessarily better?

3, 2, 1.

Holy cow.

- Wow.
- Look at that smoke.

What we heard from
our soviet space expert.

Was that the russians
were completely around the idea.

Of building a massive rocket.

Yeah, they were the biggest
rockets ever built.

I mean, you know, their guy
sergei korolev.

Was a master rocket builder.

The 1960s... he was working on
this massive new rocket, the n1.

This thing was a 300-foot-tall,
6-million-pound behemoth.

6 million? Yeah.

6-million-pound monster.

That had 30 individual
rocket engines built into it.

The u.S. Gave up
on their program.

To build a really big rocket,

So this is where the conspiracy
theorists get all up in arms.

They focus on a quote
from rocket technology pioneer.

Wernher von braun.

In his book
"conquest of the moon,".

He claimed it would have been
impossible to get to the moon.

Unless we used three rockets,

Each taller than
the empire state building.

And weighed ten times
more than the> queen mary,

Or 800,000 tons each.

So what happens in
the conspiracy community.

Is that they see this,

And they assume
bigger means better,

And they're questioning
whether or not.

The u.S. Could compete.

Well, nasa was learning.

They received secret information
stolen from the russians.

They had conducted tests
to determine.

What was the best fuel
to get to the moon,

And they decided they didn't
need a massive rocket.

Like the russians were using.

Instead, the americans
designed the saturn v rocket,

Which was more aerodynamic
and better designed.

Than the soviets' n1 rocket.

The saturn v is the rocket.

That took the apollo 11 mission
to orbit around the moon.

Where the soviets used
30 engines to launch their n1,

The americans had only
five engines.

To lift their saturn v
from the earth.

But those were very powerful
f-1 engines.

The five engines combined.

Blasted 7,500,000 pounds
of thrust,

Taking the craft to a speed
of 6,000 miles per hour.

So is a bigger rocket like
the russians' n1.

Necessarily better, as the
conspiracy theorists believe?

We travelled to the
mojave desert for an answer.

We are meeting up with rocketeer
william walby,

Who's going to show us how
sometimes better engineering.

Can take a rocket higher
than a rocket that is just big.

William and his team...

They've built two types
of rockets.

For us to go ahead
and test and to compare.

So the first one is bigger.

And then we have a two-stage,
smaller, lighter rocket as well.

This would be an example
of smarter design.

Versus sheer size.

The americans may have been
behind the soviets.

In developing nasa rockets,
but nasa refocused its efforts.

On what it considered to be
more intelligent engineering.

Like creating streamlined
rockets like the saturn.

That they considered
more efficient than the massive

Soviet rockets.

Saturn uses
the building-block principle.

It is made up of various stages,

Each of which will
drop behind in space.

As its fuel becomes exhausted.

Saturn can be a two-, three-,
or four-stage rocket.

Saturn is a type of rocket that
we developed to go to the moon.

What we want to prove here
in the desert is simple.

The conspiracy theorists say
that a rocket has to be massive.

Like the size
of what the soviets.

Were building
to get to the moon.

Nasa said no.

Being big doesn't matter as much
as being intelligently designed.

Now, the big thing on this.

Is both have the same amount
of thrust or power.

And this is a solid rocket?

It's a solid rocket. Okay.

And the two-stage has the same
total amount of power or thrust,

Just in a different
configuration.

Verne here has a product
that will give us.

Real-time values
during the entire launch.

Yeah, so during the flight,

I'll be tracking it
the whole way.

Hello. My name is kate.

I will be reporting gps
down-link information.

In real time during the flight.

We're 300 feet away
from the pads,

And we're going to do
a countdown,

And our motto is
"look, listen, and point."

- Alright.
- Y'all ready for this?

- Yeah.
- Right.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Go.

Launch detected, 1,000 feet.

5,000 feet.

Max altitude... 7,000 feet.

Distance... 1.3 miles.

Holy cow.

- Wow.
- Look at that smoke.

Thank you, guys.

That was so much better
than those little model rockets

I used to put up as a kid.

That was amazing.

The bigger rocket
flew pretty high... 7,000 feet.

That is impressive.

I can't believe the lighter,
more streamlined rocket.

That's modeled after
the american saturn rocket.

Is going to do any better.

So, william, tell us
about this rocket.

And how it's different
than the first rocket we had.

Well, it's got two motors.

Once the first motor
has burned out,

It will separate.

And then approximately
two seconds after separation,

It will fire
the second-stage motor,

And away it goes. Alright.

Well, let's get this one fired
up and ready to go as well.

Absolutely. Yeah, let's do it.

If this lighter rocket goes
further than the solid rocket,

It could debunk
the conspiracy theorists' claims.

That bigger is better.

And prove that the u.S.'s
version of a lighter rocket.

Was the way to get to the moon.

So this is hot. Okay.

Press "a" and hold "a"
till the rocket leaves.

Alright. Everybody ready?

- Is everyone ready?
- I'm ready.

The sky is clear.

Clear skies.

Range is clear.

Light that candle, buddy.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Launch.

Launch detected.

1,000 feet.

Yeah, boy.

- Wow.
- Second stage, baby.

- There it goes.
- Nice.

My goodness. Look at that.

10,000 feet.

Feel like I'm going back
to space.

That is sweet.

11,000.

12,000.

Come on, kate.

Max altitude... 12,871 feet.

Wow.

Man, it's coming down
pretty quick.

That was unbelievable.

The smaller, more smartly
designed rocket.

Still got higher altitude
than the bigger rocket.

Based on the simulations
that we ran,

It worked the way
it was supposed to.

Well, seeing the second stage
come off of the first stage...

That was awesome to see that
transition take place as well.

Yeah, that's the tricky part,
even for nasa,

To get the second stage
to light reliably.

Well, then, houston,
thrust is go.

All engines are looking good.

You don't need
the big, giant, mega-rocket.

Like the russians
were trying to perfect.

I have to say that I...
I think that puts a real.

Big crimp into the argument.

That you have to have
this massive rocket.

To go to the moon.

Seems pretty clear to me
that this claim.

From the conspiracy theorists
is just wrong.

Von braun may have once said
that bigger rockets are better,

But that's not necessarily true.

It took lots of careful testing,
planning,

And even some covert espionage
for the americans.

To design a rocket that possibly
could perform better.

Than a rocket from the russians.

This video footage shows some of
their horrible rocket failures.

It's like a one-way
ticket to an extremely big.

Fireworks display
on a launch pad.

Look at that.

Wow.

So, our rocket test
in the desert.

Went right to the heart
of the conspiracy theory.

The conspiracy theorists assume
that bigger means badder,

And they're questioning
whether the united states.

Could actually
compete with that.

Both the soviets
and the americans knew.

That it would take a powerful
rocket to get to the moon,

But the united states
was able to move.

Ahead of the soviet union.

Because we came up with better-
designed engine technology.

We know the soviets' n1 rocket.

Never made it to the moon.

Since that's the case,

Then the question is,
why did it fail?

This video footage,

Which the soviets
actually tried to keep a secret,

Shows some of their horrible
rocket failures.

Just after liftoff,
a major malfunction occurred.

And the rocket exploded
on the launch pad.

With the force
of a small nuclear weapon.

The rocket's engine
had not been perfected,

And the result
was a disastrous one.

The wreckage on the floor of
the kazakh desert was telling.

The race to the moon was over,
and the soviets had failed.

The n1 was
the soviet moon rocket,

But they never got it to work.

The rocket had 30 engines.

The problem for the soviets was.

They were never able to get
those engines to work together.

That was a fundamental problem.

They kept shutting off
and unbalancing the rocket.

As it launched.

They had four test launches.

All of them failed.

Wow.

Trying to get to the moon
that way is a one-way ticket.

To an extremely big fireworks
display on a launch pad.

We had a smarter design
than the soviets.

Where the soviets had 30 engines
on their n1 rocket,

We had only five engines
on our moon rocket,

The saturn v, but those engines
were really powerful.

The engines that powered
the saturn v...

They were called the f-1 engine.

They were the most powerful
engines in the world.

These engines delivered

7.5 million pounds of thrust
at liftoff.

And in
the two and a half minutes.

Before the first stage
burned out,

The rocket reached
6,000 miles an hour.

They've convinced me.

The u.S. May have been behind
in the space race,

But when it came
to developing a rocket.

That would send a crew
to the moon,

The soviets failed miserably,
and we surpassed them.

Seems pretty clear that
we had the technology.

Yeah, I think that
we've conclusively proven.

That the soviets' fascination
with big,

Heavy rockets is the very thing
that doomed them.

Case closed on that one,
but we're talking about the fact.

That nasa did get to the moon
eventually.

That doesn't mean that apollo 11.

Was a legitimate landing
way back in 1969.

Because we simply weren't ready
to go to the moon yet.

Here we go.

Alright.
Our investigations continue.