Here's my problem with all of this. People have been saying the earth is a sphere for thousands of years. The people who started this "conspiracy" would most likely be dead now. So they would have had to pass on the "secret." All it would take is for one person to spill the beans and expose it. The vast number of people who would have to keep this a secret over the decades is extraordinary. If the world is flat, then there HAS to be a conspiracy to keep the people in the dark. People have said the world was a sphere long before NASA or even the United States ever thought about NASA. So why would those first "conspirators" have even done this?
Also, what about the private companies that are now exploring space operations. Wouldn't the govt try and shut those down? For $200k right now Russia will take anyone to space. Why would they allow that if they were going to see a flat earth?
I live ocean front in South Carolina. Every single day I see ships coming over the horizon, mast first. The people on the 1st floor see less of the ship than I do on the 23rd floor. No optical illusion is going to produce that....no matter is sunny, or hazy, or whatever. The same can be said for every ocean horizon in the world.
Also, simultaneously measuring the length of the shadows cast by identical poles perpendicular to a flat surface that is tangential to the earth's radius at various, distant locations. If indeed the earth is round, then the shadows should all vary in length from one distant location to another, which means that the angle at which the parallel rays of sunlight struck each pole varied from one location to another. (recall the alternate-angles theorem from Geometry class) If the earth is flat, then the lengths of all the shadows should be identical when measured simultaneously, since all rays of sunlight that strike the earth are parallel. However, they are not identical, but in fact, varies in such a way that the angles indicate a spherical surface. (This was one of the earliest methods to determine the radius of the earth)
And finally, how is it I can see the space station with my telescope in the mornings? Usually about 5-6am just before sunrise.