MOL_engl_07

11 – 03 – 2009

“MOL” The “Blue Suit” Space Station

Giuseppe De Chiara

Foreword by Dwayne Allen Day

All the drawings are copyright of the author

2“MOL – Manned Orbiting Laboratory”

Giuseppe De Chiara © 2009

Foreword (by Dwayne Allen Day)

American manned military space programs 1958-1963

1958• NASA created. President Eisenhower directed that manned space program be a civilian (NASA)

project.• Air Force secretly continued work on a pressurized spacecraft that could be modified to carry a man as

part of the Samos E-5 reconnaissance satellite program.1960

• Air Force begins studying Military Orbital Development Station (MODS).• Air Force also studying the Dyna-Soar winged spaceplane.

1961• NASA starts development of the Gemini 2-man spacecraft.• Air Force work on the Samos E-5 stops. Pressurized spacecraft for carrying an astronaut is not

approved.1962

• Air Force considers buying 6-7 Gemini spacecraft as part of the “Blue Gemini” program:First three missions would be NASA with Air Force experiments.Next 1-2 missions would be 1 NASA and 1 US Air Force astronaut.1-2 missions would be totally USAF.Blue Gemini Canceled

1963• December, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara cancels Dyna-Soar and MODS, starts Manned

Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program.




Manned Orbiting Laboratory program 1963-1969 (1/2)

1963-64• MOL is studied by the Air Force.• The spacecraft is intended primarily to conduct experiments to determine if military astronauts can

perform useful missions.• No clear reconnaissance or espionage mission.• No clear approval for MOL to enter full-scale development.

1965 • National Reconnaissance Office apparently becomes involved in MOL.• KH-10 DORIAN camera system added to MOL design.• Capable of spotting objects on the ground as small as 4 inches (10 centimeters).• President Lyndon Johnson formally approves MOL for development.• MOL changes from an “experimental” spacecraft to an “operational” reconnaissance program

1966-67• Development of MOL continues.• MOL designed to operate without crew if necessary.

1967-68• MOL schedule slips.• First launch was apparently scheduled for 1969, but slips to 1970.• At least one, possibly two highly secret blue-ribbon panels evaluate MOL and determine that humans

are not only unnecessary, but degrade the optics performance.




Manned Orbiting Laboratory program 1963-1969 (2/2)

1969• MOL schedule apparently slips again to 1971.• At least 6-7 MOL spacecraft are planned:

At least six KH-10 camera mirrors are built.• President Nixon cancels MOL program.

Why?• MOL was an expensive program suffering constant schedule slips.• MOL money was needed by other USAF research and development programs.• Vietnam War was very expensive.• Many people not convinced that humans were necessary for reconnaissance missions; some think they

hurt camera systems.• USAF also needed to pay for other space programs, including part of the KH-9 HEXAGON search

reconnaissance satellite.• MOL was not canceled because a new real-time reconnaissance satellite, the KH-11 KENNAN,

became available. KH-11 was approved in 1971; MOL was canceled in 1969.




Manned Orbiting Laboratory Cancellation

Launch site:• Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6 or “Slick-Six”) at Vandenberg Air Force Base was completed, then

closed.

Mirrors (6 of them):• In mid-1970s they were donated to the civilian Multiple-Mirror Telescope.

Other hardware:• Substantial parts of the first vehicle had been built. It is not known what happened to this equipment. It

was probably scrapped.

Launch vehicle• Titan IIIM was not completed, but formed the basis for the Titan IV in the mid-1980s



Evolution of American Reconnaissance Systems

1960 1970 1980

KH-1, 2, 3CORONA

(Discoverer)

SAMOSE-5

KH-4ACORONA

BlueGemini

KH-9HEXAGON

KH-10/MOLDORIAN

KH-11KENNAN

The drawings are at same scale

Manned Manned Manned

KH-7/8GAMBIT



Skylab

Evolution of American manned orbital laboratories

1960 1970 1980

AAP Wet Workshop

MOL

MORL



Gemini family evolution

1963 1964 1967 19681965 1969 19701966

GeminiFerry Big Gemini

Gemini Gemini BMercury

MK II

GeminiRescue

AdvancedBig Gemini

WingedGemini

Blue Gemini

Lunar FlybyGemini

Lunar RescueGemini



Titan launcher evolution

1963 1964 1967 19681965 1969 19701966 1980Titan I Titan II Titan IIIC Titan IIIC-MOL Titan IIIM Titan IV



McDonnell Douglas MOL (1/2)

Front view

Top view

Left view



Back view

Right view

Bottom view

McDonnell Douglas MOL (2/2)



Two launchers for MOL

Titan IIIC Titan IIIM

Titan IIIC (only for tests):Length: 42.0 mDiameter (max): 3.05 mTotal mass: 626.190 kgPayload: 13.100 kg

Titan IIIM (operational):Length: 39.0 mDiameter (max): 3.05 mTotal mass: 836.560 kgPayload: 17.000 kg



MOL main featuresGemini B Reentry Module (RM):Crew: 2Length: 3.4 mDiameter (max): 2.3 mHabitable volume: 2.55 m3

Total mass: 1.983 kgPropellants (RCS): N2 O4 /MMHElectrical system: Batteries (4.0 kWh)Escape system: Ejection SeatsAdapter Module (AM):Length: 1.56 mDiameter (max): 2.32 mTotal mass: 1.868 kgPropellants: SolidLaboratory Module (LM):Length: 5.80 mDiameter (max): 3.05 mTotal mass: 6.000 kgPayload: 2.700 KgHabitable volume: 11.30 m3

Propellants (RCS): N2 O4 /MMHElectrical system: Fuel Cells

Gemini B

LaboratoryModule

MissionModules

ForwardModule

Aft Module

AdapterModule

UnpressurizedSection

PressurizedSection

Reentry Module

Mission Module (LM):Length: 11.24 mDiameter (max): 3.05 mTotal mass: 1.925 kg



MOL cross section

Front view(w/o Gemini)

Top view

Left view

Gemini B Laboratory Module Mission Modules

Ree

ntry

Mod

ule

Ada

pter

Mod

ule

Unp

ress

uriz

ed

Sect

ion

Pres

suriz

ed

Sect

ion

Forw

ard

Mod

ule

Aft

Mod

ule



MOL cutaway

Top view

Left view

Front view(w/o Unpressurized

Section)



MOL Experiment Payloads

P-1 Acquisition and Tracking of Ground Targets P-2 Acquisition and Tracking of Space Targets P-3 Direct Viewing for Ground Targets P-4 Electromagnetic Signal Detection P-5 In-Space Maintenance P-6 Extravehicular Activity P-7 Remote Maneuvering Unit P-8 Autonomous Navigation and Geodesy P-9 CANCELED experiment P-10 Multiband Spectral Observations P-11 General Human Performance in Space P-12 Biomedical and Physiological Evaluation P-13 Ocean Surveillance P-14 High Resolution Optics System (KH-10 DORIAN camera)



MOL “KH 10 Dorian” Payload cutaway

Top view

Left view

Front view(w/o LM)

KH 10 “Dorian”

RotatingMirror

Light Entrance

1965 Configuration

Directionof flight

Earth

PrimaryMirror

SecondaryMirror

Directionof flight



MOL “KH 10 Dorian” Payload cutaway

Top view

Left view

Front view(w/o LM)

KH 10 “Dorian”

Ligh

t En

tran

ce

1968 Configuration

PrimaryMirror

Ligh

t En

tran

ce

SecondaryMirror

Earth

Directionof flight

Earth



KH 10 Optical acquisition paths

1965 1968



McDonnell Douglas Gemini-MOL (1/2)

Front view

Top view

Left view



McDonnell Douglas Gemini-MOL (2/2)

Back view

Bottom view

Right view



Gemini-MOL capsule cutaway

Front view

Top view

Left view



Hamilton Standard MH-7 Training Pressure Suit

Front view Left view



Hamilton Standard MH-8 Flight Pressure Suit

Front view Left view



MOL Launch (Titan IIIC – 3 November 1966)



OV4-3 cross section

Front view(w/o Gemini)

Top view

Left view

Gemini B Tank section Transtage



MOL Launch (Titan IIIM)



Gemini-MOL Atmosphere reentry



Gemini-MOL Landing



Aftermath (1/2) by Dwayne Allen Day

Cancellation of MOL freed up a lot of research and development funds that were used on other projects (like laser guided bombs for Vietnam).Some members of the USAF did not want to be involved in future human spaceflight programs (the USAF had spent approximately $1.5 billion and six years and got nothing).There were some efforts to use the MOL hardware on other projects, like Skylab, but they were apparently all rejected. MOL was too specialized.By the early 1970s, NASA asked USAF to participate in the Space Shuttle program. USAF agreed to support shuttle if:a) The payload bay was enlarged to carry future large national security payloadsb) Shuttle was designed to be launched from Vandenberg AFB in California.

USAF had no interest in manned spaceflight missions during 1970s. They agreed that they might eventually buy their own Space Shuttle orbiter for launching military payloads, but they did not plan for any missions that required military astronauts.



Aftermath (2/2) by Dwayne Allen Day

After the start of the space station program in 1983, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger insisted that the space station not prevent military use. He did not plan for a military mission on the space station, but wanted to keep the option open. This created controversy with non-American space station partners. No military mission for space station ever emerged.During the 1980s, the USAF spent billions of dollars to launch military payloads aboard the Space Shuttle and to develop a shuttle launch pad using the old MOL launch facility SLC-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. After the Challenger accident, the USAF canceled plans to use the Space Shuttle.MOL demonstrated - without ever leaving the ground - that there was no clear mission for military astronauts.

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MOL_engl_07