shale oil leases but close to the bank, to which all the royalties from the shale oil operations were funneled. As a child, Hawthorne was taken by his father to observe one of the space shuttle launches at Cape Canaveral and this incident made a lasting impression on him. Not a favorable impression. Even as a child, Hawthorne distrusted what anyone told him and thought the so-called space shuttle launch was a giant fraud.
Growing to adulthood, Hawthorne’s greatest campaign was aimed at proving that NASA’s statements about space exploration were all part of a giant hoax, designed to illegally obtain funds by whichever corrupt administration was in power in Washington. “Can you honestly believe,” he would assert to all who would listen, “That we actually sent a manned expedition to the moon? Why even Jules Verne’s novel A Trip to the Moon is more creditable.”
Hawthorne was so certain of his derogatory opinion about NASA that he decided to obtain the necessary proof. There were fewer obstacles to Hawthorne attempting to do this than for most other individuals because of his great personal wealth. But even for a person with Hawthorne’s resources to replicate the American space program would have been too costly.
Fortunately, Hawthorne had other arrows in his quiver. Alone among prominent Americans, Hawthorne had strongly endorsed the Russian annexation of the Crimea. Ignoring popular outcry, he further loudly identified himself with Moscow’s call for Ukraine to cease its effort to join the European Economic Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin was so grateful over this rare show of foreign support for his policies that he sent a warm, personally hand-written note to Hawthorne, thanking him and inviting him to visit Russia.
Hawthorne quickly accepted the invitation and travelled to Russia. In Moscow, he was treated with the same ceremony as would be accorded a friendly head of state. At the formal dinner in his honor, he was seated at the table next to the Russian President, and he and President Putin spent almost two hours in friendly conversation. It was during this meeting that Hawthorne extracted from Putin a promise that Russia would permit him to use its space facilities to send his own expedition to the moon.
The Russian President probably did not expect he would have to honor his promise to Hawthorne. After all, of what use is a commitment to use Russian space facilities if one does not have a space capsule. Hawthorne had no official backing so there was no practical chance of his buying or borrowing a space capsule. Undaunted, Hawthorne thanked Putin, departed Moscow the next day and back in the United States began furious efforts to obtain a space capsule. With his great wealth, it was still difficult but not impossible.
After examining his options, Hawthorne heard of an ex-Air Force Major and former astronaut, Harley Mathews, who had been forced out of the program after a series of highly-publicized extra-marital affairs. The one-time astronaut had NASA Training to pilot a space capsule. Mathews was now in bad financial shape, attempting to eke out a living as a salesman of aluminum siding while paying large alimony payments to his former wife, and providing child support to the unwed mother with whom he had fathered a child.
Hawthorne contacted Mathews and offered him a six-figure salary and two year contract if he would agree to head the proposed expedition to the Moon. His duties would include designing a capsule for the journey and then piloting it. Despite the great temptation of the financial package, Mathews truthfully explained the many practical obstacles in the way of such a project. His objections were dismissed and Mathews agreed, assuming that Hawthorne would come to realize the futility of his plan and abort it, but not before Mathews would receive a healthy cash infusion.
Without further delay, Hawthorne purchased a closed auto manufacturing plant in Michigan and installed
Growing to adulthood, Hawthorne’s greatest campaign was aimed at proving that NASA’s statements about space exploration were all part of a giant hoax, designed to illegally obtain funds by whichever corrupt administration was in power in Washington. “Can you honestly believe,” he would assert to all who would listen, “That we actually sent a manned expedition to the moon? Why even Jules Verne’s novel A Trip to the Moon is more creditable.”
Hawthorne was so certain of his derogatory opinion about NASA that he decided to obtain the necessary proof. There were fewer obstacles to Hawthorne attempting to do this than for most other individuals because of his great personal wealth. But even for a person with Hawthorne’s resources to replicate the American space program would have been too costly.
Fortunately, Hawthorne had other arrows in his quiver. Alone among prominent Americans, Hawthorne had strongly endorsed the Russian annexation of the Crimea. Ignoring popular outcry, he further loudly identified himself with Moscow’s call for Ukraine to cease its effort to join the European Economic Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin was so grateful over this rare show of foreign support for his policies that he sent a warm, personally hand-written note to Hawthorne, thanking him and inviting him to visit Russia.
Hawthorne quickly accepted the invitation and travelled to Russia. In Moscow, he was treated with the same ceremony as would be accorded a friendly head of state. At the formal dinner in his honor, he was seated at the table next to the Russian President, and he and President Putin spent almost two hours in friendly conversation. It was during this meeting that Hawthorne extracted from Putin a promise that Russia would permit him to use its space facilities to send his own expedition to the moon.
The Russian President probably did not expect he would have to honor his promise to Hawthorne. After all, of what use is a commitment to use Russian space facilities if one does not have a space capsule. Hawthorne had no official backing so there was no practical chance of his buying or borrowing a space capsule. Undaunted, Hawthorne thanked Putin, departed Moscow the next day and back in the United States began furious efforts to obtain a space capsule. With his great wealth, it was still difficult but not impossible.
After examining his options, Hawthorne heard of an ex-Air Force Major and former astronaut, Harley Mathews, who had been forced out of the program after a series of highly-publicized extra-marital affairs. The one-time astronaut had NASA Training to pilot a space capsule. Mathews was now in bad financial shape, attempting to eke out a living as a salesman of aluminum siding while paying large alimony payments to his former wife, and providing child support to the unwed mother with whom he had fathered a child.
Hawthorne contacted Mathews and offered him a six-figure salary and two year contract if he would agree to head the proposed expedition to the Moon. His duties would include designing a capsule for the journey and then piloting it. Despite the great temptation of the financial package, Mathews truthfully explained the many practical obstacles in the way of such a project. His objections were dismissed and Mathews agreed, assuming that Hawthorne would come to realize the futility of his plan and abort it, but not before Mathews would receive a healthy cash infusion.
Without further delay, Hawthorne purchased a closed auto manufacturing plant in Michigan and installed
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