Bart Sibrel
Encyclopedia
Bart Winfield Sibrel is a Nashville, Tennessee
-based filmmaker who advances the conspiracy theory
that the six Apollo Moon landing
s between 1969 and 1972 were hoaxes. He has filmed two documentaries on the subject: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon
and Astronauts Gone Wild
.
s have refused to grant him interviews. The most infamous incident involved Apollo 11
crew member Buzz Aldrin
, the second man to walk on the moon. According to Aldrin, he was lured to a Beverly Hills hotel under the pretext of an interview on space for a Japan
ese children's television show. When he arrived, Aldrin claims Sibrel was there demanding that he swear on a Bible
that he had walked on the moon.
When Aldrin refused, Sibrel called him a "coward", a "liar", and a "thief". An exasperated Aldrin punched Sibrel in the jaw, which was recorded. Sibrel later attempted to use the tape to convince police and prosecutors that he was the victim of an assault. However, it was decided that Aldrin had been provoked, and, based on Sibrel's unfazed, nearly instant reaction to his cameraman, did not actually injure Sibrel, so no charges were filed. Many talk shows aired the clip, making Sibrel the butt of jokes. Sibrel said later that he wrote a letter of apology to Aldrin.
, Sibrel made several claims that he believed show that the Apollo Moon Landings
were faked.
Sibrel displayed footage which he claimed was accidentally sent to him from NASA
, which, according to Sibrel, was evidence that the Apollo 11
astronauts were staging shots of the Earth
to make it appear that the spacecraft was en route to the moon when Sibrel believes it was still in low Earth orbit
. Those defending Project Apollo state the "secret" NASA footage Sibrel uses is actually widely available and merely shows the astronauts practicing for an upcoming live telecast.
Sibrel believes that the technology of the United States during the era was behind that of the Soviet Union
. He points to a supposed "five-to-one superiority" in man-hours
in space held by the Soviets over the US as well as highlighting several Soviet space firsts. The veracity of the "five-to-one" figure has been challenged by the Clavius website, which is dedicated to the debunking of the Apollo Moon Landing hoax accusations
stating that the Americans had a clear lead in man-hours in space by the time Apollo 11 was launched.
He has also stated the life-threatening events that occurred during the Apollo 13
mission were actually manufactured by the government to force people to pay attention to the space program.
Bart Sibrel also participated in the controversial Fox Television Network special, Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? In it, Sibrel stated that, "I'd bet my life that we never went to the Moon."
was not in low Earth orbit. "Bart has misinterpreted things that are immediately obvious to anyone who has extensively read Apollo history and documentation or anyone who has ever been inside an Apollo Command Module
or accurate mockup," says McDade.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
-based filmmaker who advances the conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
that the six Apollo Moon landing
Moon landing
A moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959. The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned...
s between 1969 and 1972 were hoaxes. He has filmed two documentaries on the subject: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon is a 2001 documentary written, produced, and directed by Nashville, Tennessee-based filmmaker and investigative journalist Bart Winfield Sibrel. Sibrel is a critic of the United States space program and proponent of the theory that the six Apollo lunar...
and Astronauts Gone Wild
Astronauts Gone Wild
Astronauts Gone Wild is a 2004 film made by Bart Sibrel, an amateur filmmaker from Nashville, Tennessee, United States who charges that the six Apollo moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s were elaborate hoaxes...
.
Dealings with Apollo astronauts
Most astronautAstronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s have refused to grant him interviews. The most infamous incident involved Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
crew member Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...
, the second man to walk on the moon. According to Aldrin, he was lured to a Beverly Hills hotel under the pretext of an interview on space for a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese children's television show. When he arrived, Aldrin claims Sibrel was there demanding that he swear on a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
that he had walked on the moon.
When Aldrin refused, Sibrel called him a "coward", a "liar", and a "thief". An exasperated Aldrin punched Sibrel in the jaw, which was recorded. Sibrel later attempted to use the tape to convince police and prosecutors that he was the victim of an assault. However, it was decided that Aldrin had been provoked, and, based on Sibrel's unfazed, nearly instant reaction to his cameraman, did not actually injure Sibrel, so no charges were filed. Many talk shows aired the clip, making Sibrel the butt of jokes. Sibrel said later that he wrote a letter of apology to Aldrin.
Claims
In the 2001 documentary, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the MoonA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon is a 2001 documentary written, produced, and directed by Nashville, Tennessee-based filmmaker and investigative journalist Bart Winfield Sibrel. Sibrel is a critic of the United States space program and proponent of the theory that the six Apollo lunar...
, Sibrel made several claims that he believed show that the Apollo Moon Landings
Project Apollo
The Apollo program was the spaceflight effort carried out by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration , that landed the first humans on Earth's Moon. Conceived during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Apollo began in earnest after President John F...
were faked.
Sibrel displayed footage which he claimed was accidentally sent to him from NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, which, according to Sibrel, was evidence that the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
astronauts were staging shots of the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
to make it appear that the spacecraft was en route to the moon when Sibrel believes it was still in low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
. Those defending Project Apollo state the "secret" NASA footage Sibrel uses is actually widely available and merely shows the astronauts practicing for an upcoming live telecast.
Sibrel believes that the technology of the United States during the era was behind that of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He points to a supposed "five-to-one superiority" in man-hours
Man hour
A man-hour or person-hour is the amount of work performed by an average worker in one hour. It is used in written "estimates" for estimation of the total amount of uninterrupted labour required to perform a task. For example, researching and writing a college paper might require twenty man-hours...
in space held by the Soviets over the US as well as highlighting several Soviet space firsts. The veracity of the "five-to-one" figure has been challenged by the Clavius website, which is dedicated to the debunking of the Apollo Moon Landing hoax accusations
Apollo Moon Landing hoax accusations
Different Moon landing conspiracy theories claim that some or all elements of the Apollo program and the associated Moon landings were hoaxes staged by NASA and members of other organizations. Various groups and individuals have made such conspiracy claims since the end of the Apollo program in 1975...
stating that the Americans had a clear lead in man-hours in space by the time Apollo 11 was launched.
He has also stated the life-threatening events that occurred during the Apollo 13
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST. The landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module upon which the Command...
mission were actually manufactured by the government to force people to pay attention to the space program.
Bart Sibrel also participated in the controversial Fox Television Network special, Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? In it, Sibrel stated that, "I'd bet my life that we never went to the Moon."
Criticism
Jim McDade, writing in the Birmingham News, characterized A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon as "full of falsehoods, innuendo, strident accusations, half-truths, flawed logic and premature conclusions." According to McDade, the "only thing new and weird" in the 47-minute film is that the claim that video views of Earth were actually filmed through a small hole to give the impression that Apollo 11Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
was not in low Earth orbit. "Bart has misinterpreted things that are immediately obvious to anyone who has extensively read Apollo history and documentation or anyone who has ever been inside an Apollo Command Module
Apollo Command/Service Module
The Command/Service Module was one of two spacecraft, along with the Lunar Module, used for the United States Apollo program which landed astronauts on the Moon. It was built for NASA by North American Aviation...
or accurate mockup," says McDade.
Legal troubles
In July 2009, Sibrel, who also works as a Nashville cab driver, was charged with vandalism when he jumped up and down on the hood of a car owned by a woman with whom he was having a parking dispute. Court documents show he was arrested after the driver refused to pull out of a parking space he wanted. The arresting officer wrote, "A few moments later, the parking space in front of the victim opened up and [Sibrel] drove into it and parked." Sibrel "then walked up to the victim's car and jumped onto the hood, and then jumped up and down several times." The report says he caused about $1,400 worth of damage, after which Sibrel pleaded guilty to vandalism and was placed on probation.Moon hoax documentary films
- What Happened on the Moon?, David Percy/Aulis.com, 2000; Run time: 222 minutes.
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the MoonA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the MoonA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon is a 2001 documentary written, produced, and directed by Nashville, Tennessee-based filmmaker and investigative journalist Bart Winfield Sibrel. Sibrel is a critic of the United States space program and proponent of the theory that the six Apollo lunar...
, January 18, 2001; Run time: 47 minutes - Astronauts Gone WildAstronauts Gone WildAstronauts Gone Wild is a 2004 film made by Bart Sibrel, an amateur filmmaker from Nashville, Tennessee, United States who charges that the six Apollo moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s were elaborate hoaxes...
, June 14, 2004; Run time: 53 minutes - Apollo 11 Monkey Business, December 9, 2004; Run time: 108 minutes
- Apollo 11 Post-Flight Press Conference, December 9, 2004; Run time: 83 minutes
External links
- Bart Sibrel's website
- Bart Sibrel's documentaries at Moonmovie.com
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon on Youtube
- Badastronomy.com's coverage of the Fox special
- Bart Sibrel's Top Fifteen at Clavius.org, a hoax debunking site
- Video of Buzz Aldrin punching Bart Sibrel
- A critique of Sibrel
- Lunar Legacy - A documentary challenging Sibrel's hoax theories
- Pitch This! Interview with Bart Sibrel: by Mad Dug and Anthony Anderson July 20, 2011