Future Theater

Tonight our guest is Dr. R. Ken Johnston, a retired aerospace engineer who has been called a NASA whistle-blower because he decided to save, rather than destroy, some perfectly good glossies from the Apollo program. Also, please check out Ken’s Moon, his own personal recounting of his experiences.

Here is his official bio:

“Dr. R. Ken Johnston, Sr. one of 4 Civilian Astronaut Consultant Pilots from the Apollo Moon Program, is a retired aerospace engineer, US Marine, and “NASA Whistleblower.” He refused to strictly follow orders and destroy a nearly-complete collection of 8″ x 10″ glossy photo-prints from the Apollo program, photos that are not available from NASA at this time and are of a higher resolution than what is found online. Johnston was born Fort Sam Houston US Army Air Base in San Antonio, TX. 1942, and studied at Oklahoma City University. He enlisted in the US Marines in August, 1962 and reported to Pensacola as a Marine cadet for flight training in September 1964. He left the Marines in August 1966.

Johnston was hired by Grumman Aircraft as pilot with an avionics background to become a principal contractor for the Apollo Lunar Module to assist with cockpit and instrument development and training in Houston. He has described his status at that time as a “civilian astronaut consultant pilot.”

Ken worked with the Lunar Lander LTA-8 that was in a large vacuum chamber training all the astronauts on the systems of the Lunar Lander. He has a log book with names of many of the astronauts from the Apollo days and after. When the first men landed on the moon, NASA rewarded all the research and development personnel with lay offs but Ken’s skills were needed elsewhere.

Ken Johnston worked as a contractor from 1969 to 1972, during the Apollo Program, and he was employed by Brown & Root, principal contractors to NASA for management of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, where all the moon rocks were stored, curated, cataloged and, in some cases, distributed to scientists who had successfully applied to carry out analysis in their own labs.

An important part of Johnston‘s duty was to package and ship lunar samples to science labs, together with photographs documenting their exact location and orientation in situ. As such, he had in his office several sets of photographs taken by Apollo astronauts with their chest-mounted Hasselblad cameras. When the moon rock distribution wound down, he was instructed by Bud Laskawa, his boss, to destroy what remained of the photo archive, but Johnston kept one set as a personal collection for a work portfolio.

Johnston applied to NASA for the 1977 astronaut selection for duty as a Space Shuttle astronaut, but was turned down because NASA wanted the astronauts to be PhD level scientists. The ideal astronaut was no longer a jet-jock, but men with scientific accreditation. Johnston applied when NASA was recruiting again, Johnston says he was considered too old. He did, however, join NASA’s educational outreach program as a “Solar System Ambassador” traveling and speaking to civic and youth groups about space exploration and careers in engineering and science.

Ken Johnston spent 23 years at NASA working with numerous space programs as well as the astronauts who manned those missions. He was one of the five original pilots who tested all of the Apollo equipment including the lunar module which later carried Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. He is familiar with the processes of checks and balances used within NASA to secure the safety of a mission.” ?

Tonight our guest is Dr. R. Ken Johnston, a retired aerospace engineer who has been called a NASA whistle-blower because he decided to save, rather than destroy, some perfectly good glossies from the Apollo program. Also, please check out Ken’s Moon, his own personal recounting of his experiences.

Here is his official bio:

“Dr. R. Ken Johnston, Sr. one of 4 Civilian Astronaut Consultant Pilots from the Apollo Moon Program, is a retired aerospace engineer, US Marine, and “NASA Whistleblower.” He refused to strictly follow orders and destroy a nearly-complete collection of 8″ x 10″ glossy photo-prints from the Apollo program, photos that are not available from NASA at this time and are of a higher resolution than what is found online. Johnston was born Fort Sam Houston US Army Air Base in San Antonio, TX. 1942, and studied at Oklahoma City University. He enlisted in the US Marines in August, 1962 and reported to Pensacola as a Marine cadet for flight training in September 1964. He left the Marines in August 1966.

Johnston was hired by Grumman Aircraft as pilot with an avionics background to become a principal contractor for the Apollo Lunar Module to assist with cockpit and instrument development and training in Houston. He has described his status at that time as a “civilian astronaut consultant pilot.”

Ken worked with the Lunar Lander LTA-8 that was in a large vacuum chamber training all the astronauts on the systems of the Lunar Lander. He has a log book with names of many of the astronauts from the Apollo days and after. When the first men landed on the moon, NASA rewarded all the research and development personnel with lay offs but Ken’s skills were needed elsewhere.

Ken Johnston worked as a contractor from 1969 to 1972, during the Apollo Program, and he was employed by Brown & Root, principal contractors to NASA for management of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, where all the moon rocks were stored, curated, cataloged and, in some cases, distributed to scientists who had successfully applied to carry out analysis in their own labs.

An important part of Johnston‘s duty was to package and ship lunar samples to science labs, together with photographs documenting their exact location and orientation in situ. As such, he had in his office several sets of photographs taken by Apollo astronauts with their chest-mounted Hasselblad cameras. When the moon rock distribution wound down, he was instructed by Bud Laskawa, his boss, to destroy what remained of the photo archive, but Johnston kept one set as a personal collection for a work portfolio.

Johnston applied to NASA for the 1977 astronaut selection for duty as a Space Shuttle astronaut, but was turned down because NASA wanted the astronauts to be PhD level scientists. The ideal astronaut was no longer a jet-jock, but men with scientific accreditation. Johnston applied when NASA was recruiting again, Johnston says he was considered too old. He did, however, join NASA’s educational outreach program as a “Solar System Ambassador” traveling and speaking to civic and youth groups about space exploration and careers in engineering and science.

Ken Johnston spent 23 years at NASA working with numerous space programs as well as the astronauts who manned those missions. He was one of the five original pilots who tested all of the Apollo equipment including the lunar module which later carried Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. He is familiar with the processes of checks and balances used within NASA to secure the safety of a mission.” ?

Jack Brewer writes the The UFO Trail, a blog dedicated to publishing credible info on incredible topics. Brewer’s research interests include alleged alien abduction, the intelligence community, and related social dynamics. He is the author of the nonfiction book, The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community.

Here is a description of the book from Jack:

The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community explores the ways deception, sensationalism, and questionable ethics characterize the UFO genre and distort public perception of the UFO phenomenon. With interviews and insights from James Carrion, Leah Haley, Dr. Tyler Kokjohn, Simone Mendez, Carol Rainey, Emma Woods, and others, the manipulation of ufology as perpetrated by suspect individuals and the intelligence community is documented. The circumstances, existing from the very outset of the modern day UFO phenomenon, prove relevant whatever opinion one may hold on the mystery of UFOs and their alleged occupants.

Jack Brewer writes the The UFO Trail, a blog dedicated to publishing credible info on incredible topics. Brewer’s research interests include alleged alien abduction, the intelligence community, and related social dynamics. He is the author of the nonfiction book, The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community.

Here is a description of the book from Jack:

The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community explores the ways deception, sensationalism, and questionable ethics characterize the UFO genre and distort public perception of the UFO phenomenon. With interviews and insights from James Carrion, Leah Haley, Dr. Tyler Kokjohn, Simone Mendez, Carol Rainey, Emma Woods, and others, the manipulation of ufology as perpetrated by suspect individuals and the intelligence community is documented. The circumstances, existing from the very outset of the modern day UFO phenomenon, prove relevant whatever opinion one may hold on the mystery of UFOs and their alleged occupants.

Tonight we re-visit the concept of the benevolent interaction of humans and aliens with Maarten Horst, of BBS Radio, where his ET-First Contact show airs on Saturdays at midnight, Pacific time.

Official Website: http://intergalacticradiostation.com/

Tonight we re-visit the concept of the benevolent interaction of humans and aliens with Maarten Horst, of BBS Radio, where his ET-First Contact show airs on Saturdays at midnight, Pacific time.

Official Website: http://intergalacticradiostation.com/

Tonight we will just relax, talk up a storm with brave souls who call in and generally kick back, kick some new ideas around, and kick the old year to the curb.

Thanks, in advance, for listening! ?

Tonight we will just relax, talk up a storm with brave souls who call in and generally kick back, kick some new ideas around, and kick the old year to the curb.

Thanks, in advance, for listening! ?

Tonight we welcome Frank Thayer to the show to discuss his new book on The Aztec UFO Incident: The Case, Evidence, and Elaborate Cover-up of One of the Most Perplexing Crashes in History which he coauthored with Scott and Suzanne Ramsey.

Here is Frank’s bio from his site:

Frank Thayer is currently a professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at New Mexico State University. He is a New Mexico native from Grant County whose three degrees are al form NMSU. He has worked in New Mexico and in Canada as a reporter-photographer, editor, an advertising and public relations writer, as well as being a journalism educator in both countries. He has written three journalism textbooks and many published professional and scholarly articles. His current teaching concentration is in public opinion and propaganda, reporting, news writing, and editing.

Tonight we welcome Frank Thayer to the show to discuss his new book on The Aztec UFO Incident: The Case, Evidence, and Elaborate Cover-up of One of the Most Perplexing Crashes in History which he coauthored with Scott and Suzanne Ramsey.

Here is Frank’s bio from his site:

Frank Thayer is currently a professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at New Mexico State University. He is a New Mexico native from Grant County whose three degrees are al form NMSU. He has worked in New Mexico and in Canada as a reporter-photographer, editor, an advertising and public relations writer, as well as being a journalism educator in both countries. He has written three journalism textbooks and many published professional and scholarly articles. His current teaching concentration is in public opinion and propaganda, reporting, news writing, and editing.