Candace Owens origins of NASA
Executive summary
Candace Owens promoted a claim that NASA has "satanic" or occult origins, tying the agency’s early rocket work to occultist Aleister Crowley and to Jack Parsons, a founder of what became the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) [1]. Her assertions appear on her podcast and related episode listings; available sources show she frames the story as “shocking satanic origins” and connects Crowley and Parsons to NASA’s history [2] [1] [3].
1. The claim as presented: a provocative thesis repeated on a podcast
Candace Owens dedicated an episode of her Candace podcast to the “shocking satanic origins of NASA,” explicitly centering Aleister Crowley’s influence and Jack Parsons’ occult activities as the throughline to NASA’s beginnings; the episode appears on platforms including Apple Podcasts and is listed in episode guides [1] [3]. Promotional text and listings emphasize the satanic/occult angle as the central narrative she advanced to listeners [2] [1].
2. The historical kernel: Jack Parsons, rocketry, and occult associations
Public accounts referenced in the podcast description identify Jack Parsons as an early American rocket engineer who helped found the Jet Propulsion Laboratory — a factual touchpoint that anchors the more sensational claims [1] [3]. Owens’ episode links Parsons’ known association with occultist Aleister Crowley and with the Agape Lodge of Thelema to a broader narrative that implies occult influence over institutional space science [2] [1].
3. What the sources say—and what they do not say—about causation
Available listings and episode notes show Owens frames Parsons’ occultism as evidence of “satanic origins” for NASA, but the provided search results do not include independent archival or historiographical evidence that NASA as an institution was founded with a satanic or occult purpose [2] [1] [3]. The materials supplied do not document operational links—policy decisions, institutional charters, or leadership directives—connecting Parsons’ beliefs to NASA’s founding or missions; that absence is notable and not filled by the podcast listings [2] [1].
4. How this narrative fits broader cultural storytelling
The Owens episode follows a familiar pattern: take a colorful biographical detail (Parsons’ occultism) and use it as a hook to cast a large, respected institution in conspiratorial terms. Episode promotion explicitly markets the shock value—“satanic origins”—indicating an intent to provoke and attract listeners rather than to present a narrowly sourced academic history [1] [2]. That marketing posture matters when evaluating credibility: sensational framing can inflate a minor historical connection into a wholesale explanation.
5. Alternate perspectives and limitations in the available material
The episode descriptions reference a Telegraph feature on “sex, rocket science, and Satanism,” suggesting Owens drew on existing pop-historical reporting for color, but the provided search results do not include that Telegraph article’s text or other mainstream historical analyses to corroborate institutional claims [1]. Available sources do not mention peer-reviewed scholarship or archival records that support the assertion NASA’s founding was occult-driven; they also do not provide counterarguments or expert interviews within the snippets shown [1] [3].
6. Why this matters: public trust, symbolism, and research rigor
Framing a major scientific agency’s origins as “satanic” transforms a provocative biographical footnote about one early rocketeer into a narrative that can erode public trust in institutions; the episode listings demonstrate the rhetorical choice to sensationalize Parsons’ occult ties [2] [1]. Responsible historical claims require connecting individual actors’ beliefs to demonstrable institutional outcomes—available listings do not make that connection [2] [1] [3].
7. Bottom line for readers seeking context
Candace Owens is promoting a narrative that emphasizes Jack Parsons’ occult associations to argue for “satanic origins” of NASA; the podcast listings and episode descriptions document that claim [2] [1] [3]. The supplied sources do not provide corroborating archival or academic evidence that Parsons’ occultism caused or defined NASA’s institutional founding; further research in historical records and mainstream reporting would be required to substantiate the causal leap [2] [1].