YouTuber debunks huge NASA conspiracy theory as he's given solo access to $1B moon launchpad

One creator was lucky enough to become the first person on YouTube to experience a solo tour of NASA's $1 billion launchpad, and he used the incredibly rare opportunity to debunk a conspiracy theory surrounding the recent Artemis 2 launch this year.

The belief from some that the Moon landing was faked back in 1969 is one the earliest major conspiracy theories, yet it persists to this day with an alarming number of people convinced that astronauts have never actually left Earth's atmosphere.

Despite all evidence suggesting otherwise, the conspiracy has reared its ugly head once again with the latest set of Moon missions, as speculation surrounding a 'zipline theory' argued that the Artemis astronauts ejected the Orion spacecraft just as it was taken off.

YouTuber and space enthusiast Jack Gordon took advantage of the opportunity to explore Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to disprove this particular theory, indicating why it would be simply possible for the crew members to exit when some claim they did.

What is the zipline theory for NASA's Artemis mission?

Spreading rapidly on social media after the Artemis 2 launch took place on April 1, 2026, the 'zipline theory' refers to the belief that the four astronauts rapidly and discreetly exited the spacecraft just as it was taking off, making way for the historic and record-breaking trip to be 'faked'.

This was supposed by four gondola-like transport baskets jetting away from NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) when the rocket was taking off, with ziplines transporting these baskets down to safety below.

Some are convinced that NASA 'faked' the Artemis 2 mission by having astronauts escape the ship via a zipline (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

While the internet is ripe with misinformation thanks to the advent of AI, these cable cars aren't a fabrication and they did indeed travel from the SLS to the launch pad during the take-off sequence, but they weren't carrying anyone on board and the astronauts did indeed conduct an orbit of the Moon for the very first time.

Gordon explains why the zipline theory is definitely wrong

This fact was proven by Jack Gordon, who not only took a closer look at the zipwire system during his solo tour of Launch Pad 39B, but also estimated what would have happened to the astronauts if they were trying to 'escape' in that moment.

These cable cars serve their purpose as an emergency evacuation system to quickly escort the astronauts away from a spacecraft if there are any issues, as the alarming frequency of explosions would lead to significantly higher fatality numbers of crew members weren't able to quickly escape.

Escaping via the cable cars during the launch would have definitely killed the four astronauts, as temperatures exceeded 1,000°C (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Traveling in this manner while the rocket itself was launching would be impossible, however, as the temperatures would likely exceed 1,000°C while they were in the cable cars, leaving them no chance of survival.

Considering we've seen all four astronauts in good health since the launch took place – and any plans to 'fake' the mission would rely on them remaining alive – we can thankfully concretely cross this particular conspiracy theory out for good.