Author Topic: Project "Harvest Moon" (Read 21980 times)

quickscan · « **on:** 08/14/2018 10:40 pm »

This was a nearly forgotten page of Apollo history. 1971, the "Committee For the Future" pursued obtaining the 2 left-over Saturn 5s and launching 2 private missions to the moon.

See attached Wall Street Journal article.

I was the instigator of this project. Now at age 87 I think it should be acknowledged.

Kansan52 · « **Reply #1 on:** 08/14/2018 10:45 pm »

Thanks for the info.

More please. What are your recollections?

speedevil · « **Reply #2 on:** 08/14/2018 11:39 pm »

This would have been fascinating had it happened.

Proponent · « **Reply #3 on:** 08/15/2018 12:46 am »

Although I am unable to recall where, I seem to recall reading somewhere that the backers of Harvest Moon had in mind getting the Apollo 15 crew to fly an Apollo H-class mission back to the landing site of Apollo 15 (which, of course, had been a J-class mission).

quickscan · « **Reply #4 on:** 08/15/2018 01:49 am »

I have more documentation that would be of historical interest. Could post it here, but what I really was hoping for was a Wikipedia page. Have made some minor edits in the past, but creating a whole new page is beyond me.

Any "mentors" out there? g.

Blackstar · « **Reply #5 on:** 08/15/2018 02:39 am »

Quote from: quickscan on 08/15/2018 01:49 am

I have more documentation that would be of historical interest. Could post it here, but what I really was hoping for was a Wikipedia page. Have made some minor edits in the past, but creating a whole new page is beyond me.

Any "mentors" out there? g.

Scan it, send it to me. I'll write a Space Review article about it. Once it's covered in an article, somebody can create a Wikipedia entry, which is easier to do when you can reference an internet article.

quickscan · « **Reply #6 on:** 08/15/2018 12:19 pm »

Congressman "Tiger' Teague entered a Congressional Resolution asking NASA to cooperate with the Committee For the Future. (ATTACHED)

More to come. g.

quickscan · « **Reply #7 on:** 08/15/2018 12:36 pm »

As a side-bar, I produced several space documentaries including "Log of Apollo 7."
You can find it on YouTube channel, George Van Valkenburg.

Archibald · « **Reply #8 on:** 08/15/2018 03:35 pm »

Wow. My mind is completely blown. The exact kind of people that make this forum such a unique place on the Internet.

I ran across this project a while back, and I did some searches about it (I'm writing fiction in my free time). Information is pretty scarce, hence THIS is too good to be true.

In my view project Harvest Moon is rather unique as far as space history goes. An atempt at a private Apollo mission to try and rescue that program, that was a bold move even if probably very difficult. It had to be tried ! And that was 40 years before Golden Spike (what happened to them, anyway ?), 30 years before SpaceX, and 10 years before early efforts to get a private Space Shuttle off the pad.

I have some questions...

Do you remember Barbara Marx Hubbard involvment ?

In a later biography called "The hunger of Eve" she told she had met von Braun and he had told her about growing crystalls aboard Skylab. She didn't found the idea exciting enough.
As said in another post, Olin Teague supported the project in Congress but it died there.

Wasn't Krafft Ehricke involved at some point ?

How did Project Harvest Moon evolved into Mankind One ?

https://www.wired.com/2012/03/destination-mankind-1972/

As for a Wikipedia page, perhaps not an entirely new one, but Project Harvest Moon deserves to be mentionned, either as "private spaceflight" or "Apollo" entry (I'd prefer the later, as Wikipedia private spaceflight entry is a mess).
Or maybe here > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_private_spaceflight

Your venture was some years before OTRAG, although very different.

quickscan · « **Reply #9 on:** 08/15/2018 10:16 pm »

Thanks Archibald
It is good to be remembered. Yes, Barbara was the force behind the Committee For the future. She mentions me in "The Hunger of Eve." Not sure what Mankind One was. My memory is that the Committee put Harvest Moon in the 'too hard' basket and launched the talkfest called Syncon.
I have 3 significant documents relating to your questions about history. Not sure I can attach them all. Maybe one at a time? g.

Wicky · « **Reply #10 on:** 08/16/2018 10:32 am »

Fascinating - Were they too optimistic on the financial value of the moon rocks they hoped to sell which mainly underpinned the business case of the project?

Archibald · « **Reply #11 on:** 08/16/2018 10:58 am »

Seconded. Fill a lot of gaps in the few thing I found in my search.

Quote

Thanks Archibald - It is good to be remembered.

You are welcome. Projct Harvest Moon is interesting in the sense that, in a lot of pre-Apollo, 50's sci-fi stories, conquest of the Moon was made by some private companies or individual, the ones who build the first piloted lunar ships. Typical: Heinlein - The man who sold the Moon.
Then Apollo happened thanks to the governement. Project Harvest Moon was kind of private sector trying to enter the project.

Overall, Project Harvest Moon would made a good basis for a hard sci-fi novel, some kind of alternate history.
Think James Michener Space, or more recently, Allen Steele. Or Martin Caidin Marooned. Or, the horror way, that movie - Apollo 18.

Archibald · « **Reply #12 on:** 08/18/2018 06:06 am »

I red the linked documents. Look at scan number 3: one of the concepts was FIELD - plants to be grown on the lunar surface, protected by a 20ft wide mylar dome.
By some amusing / astonishing coincidence, Elon Musk started SpaceX on a very similar idea in 2001 (except on Mars !).
He wanted to land a plastic dome on the surface, protecting plants growing on the regolith. I can't remember the exact details, but I think he submitted or borrowed the idea from Zubrin Mars Society before they parted ways. Then Musk realized existing rockets were unaffordable, and started SpaceX. The irony was SpaceX ultimately prevailed over the initial idea.

Both projects are based on a similar idea: to create a media frenzy and impress Joe-six-pack by showing that earth plants can be grown on another planetary body.

anobium625 · « **Reply #13 on:** 08/20/2018 11:46 pm »

I saw your request for an account of Profect Harvest Moon in the Wikipedia Teahouse (which I suggest you look at) and wrote a short article based principally upon US newspaper accounts. I just found this thread with the Wall Street Journal article, the details of the Harvest Moon experiments, and Olin Teague's resolution. I will include citations to them in what I have already written. Another Wiki editor has agreed to review and revise my present draft. I don't plan to submit the draft for review until I have read Barbara Marx Hubbard's biography, which is coming in the mail.
I have one question. One of the newspaper articles said that a "newspaper columnist" was a member of the Committee for the Future. Could you identify him/her, since membership may have biased his/her article(s).

Archibald · « **Reply #14 on:** 08/21/2018 03:40 pm »

Quote from: anobium625 on 08/20/2018 11:46 pm

I saw your request for an account of Profect Harvest Moon in the Wikipedia Teahouse (which I suggest you look at) and wrote a short article based principally upon US newspaper accounts. I just found this thread with the Wall Street Journal article, the details of the Harvest Moon experiments, and Olin Teague's resolution. I will include citations to them in what I have already written. Another Wiki editor has agreed to review and revise my present draft. I don't plan to submit the draft for review until I have read Barbara Marx Hubbard's biography, which is coming in the mail.
I have one question. One of the newspaper articles said that a "newspaper columnist" was a member of the Committee for the Future. Could you identify him/her, since membership may have biased his/her article(s).

If a wikipedia page is ever created, I'll be happy to contribute, but I need a "sherpa" to guide me across Wiki intricacies (so that my entry would not be deleted for whatever reasons).

Lar · « **Reply #15 on:** 08/21/2018 03:50 pm »

Quote from: Archibald on 08/21/2018 03:40 pm

Quote from: anobium625 on 08/20/2018 11:46 pm
I saw your request for an account of Profect Harvest Moon in the Wikipedia Teahouse (which I suggest you look at) and wrote a short article based principally upon US newspaper accounts. I just found this thread with the Wall Street Journal article, the details of the Harvest Moon experiments, and Olin Teague's resolution. I will include citations to them in what I have already written. Another Wiki editor has agreed to review and revise my present draft. I don't plan to submit the draft for review until I have read Barbara Marx Hubbard's biography, which is coming in the mail.
I have one question. One of the newspaper articles said that a "newspaper columnist" was a member of the Committee for the Future. Could you identify him/her, since membership may have biased his/her article(s).

If a wikipedia page is ever created, I'll be happy to contribute, but I need a "sherpa" to guide me across Wiki intricacies (so that my entry would not be deleted for whatever reasons).

There are some good pages that deal with the process and give good advice. But even finding them can be a bit of a challenge for new editors.

I'm an admin on English Wikipedia. Basically for non biographical things, stick to neutral tone and only report things you can source (please actually add references) and you'll be fine. This is a non biographical thing. If you start, reach out and I'll take a look. Involving people from the appropriate WikiProject will help too.

Please provide links to the teahouse request and other relevant things if you all would. Best to link to a specific diff so if the page changes you can still find it. (use the article history to find the diff)

quickscan · « **Reply #16 on:** 08/21/2018 09:53 pm »

I would be interested in anything you have posted.
Original "Committee For the Future" members attached.

anobium625 · « **Reply #17 on:** 08/22/2018 01:54 am »

If you go to any Wikipedia page, the left hand column has the word "Help". Click on that and look for the "Teahouse." Click on Teahouse and you'll find a report of my status on the Harvest Moon article. Briefly, another Wiki editor is going to review it for Wiki technicalities and make changes as necessary. I would also like to read Barbara Marx Hubbard's biography in hopes of finding related topics that I can look up. Wiki doesn't permit original research, so whatever is on the Wiki page needs valid citations from public sources. Considering that I had never heard of Harvest Moon and have only been at it for a little over a week, I've made great progress. I should have a draft article very soon, but it will take Wiki as much as six weeks to review it and decide if it is "notable" enough for a Wiki article. But it is in the works.

quickscan · « **Reply #18 on:** 08/22/2018 04:39 am »

If you are in personal contact with Barbara, give her my regards. g.

anobium625 · « **Reply #19 on:** 08/22/2018 05:56 pm »

I have never met Barbara or anyone else associated with Harvest Moon. I'm just a relatively new Wiki editor looking for places to help, and Harvest Moon needed an editor.