I never said that NASA does *no* space stuff. I said that one of their really big budget programs that put them on the map was looking shaky, so it's possible they cut a deal with the deep state: We get to engineer a propaganda success to finally beat the soviets at something, and you get a cut of the budget. Everyone who would have to have been in on it would either benefit enormously, or could be pressured to go along. Those that refused... they were in a high risk profession and could easily be accidented.