It was twenty years ago today, on September 13th, 1999, that the world suffered one of it’s most catastrophic disasters of all time, because it was on that day that our moon was blasted out of it’s own orbit.
In truth, the accident was entirely mankind’s fault. The governments of the world, for some stupid reason, had decided that the moon was the best place to store waste from it’s nuclear power stations. Out of place, out of mind, as the old saying goes. But this practice came back to bite them on their backsides when a massive nuclear explosion rocked the moon, sending it hurtling into deep space.
The men and women who were stationed on Moonbase Alpha were officially declared missing. These included Commander John Koenig, who had only taken command of the base four days before. Nobody knows what happened to them after the moon left the Earth’s orbit. It’s thought that they survived the explosion, but it’s unknown if they survived the moon’s journey through the stars.
A multitude of questions remain unanswered since that day twenty years ago. Moonbase Alpha was meant to have been one of mankind’s greatest achievements. If that was the case then why did their technology seem so out of date? At a time when the world was connecting itself to the world wide web their technology looked extremely dated, like it was something out of the mid-1970’s. This somewhat “retro” feel even went as far as the uniforms the crew were forced to wear. This insistence couldn’t have done much for morale.
If there was an official enquiry into this accident then it’s findings have never been made public. The world has managed to continue without it’s only natural satellite. Maybe one day we’ll find out exactly what happened. Until then we’ll remember those who served on Moonbase Alpha on this day, on Breakaway Day.
PS - if you’re wondering what I’m on about, just Google “Space 1999”.
In truth, the accident was entirely mankind’s fault. The governments of the world, for some stupid reason, had decided that the moon was the best place to store waste from it’s nuclear power stations. Out of place, out of mind, as the old saying goes. But this practice came back to bite them on their backsides when a massive nuclear explosion rocked the moon, sending it hurtling into deep space.
The men and women who were stationed on Moonbase Alpha were officially declared missing. These included Commander John Koenig, who had only taken command of the base four days before. Nobody knows what happened to them after the moon left the Earth’s orbit. It’s thought that they survived the explosion, but it’s unknown if they survived the moon’s journey through the stars.
A multitude of questions remain unanswered since that day twenty years ago. Moonbase Alpha was meant to have been one of mankind’s greatest achievements. If that was the case then why did their technology seem so out of date? At a time when the world was connecting itself to the world wide web their technology looked extremely dated, like it was something out of the mid-1970’s. This somewhat “retro” feel even went as far as the uniforms the crew were forced to wear. This insistence couldn’t have done much for morale.
If there was an official enquiry into this accident then it’s findings have never been made public. The world has managed to continue without it’s only natural satellite. Maybe one day we’ll find out exactly what happened. Until then we’ll remember those who served on Moonbase Alpha on this day, on Breakaway Day.
PS - if you’re wondering what I’m on about, just Google “Space 1999”.
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