Spies in Space: Reflections on National Reconnaissance and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory

Between 1965 and 1969, quietly and without fanfare, 17 non-NASA individuals were astronaut trained to meet the reconnaissance needs of the United States. Participants in the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program trained tirelessly and worked relentlessly believing they could contribute something unique to U.S. reconnaissance efforts. And, they all shared a dream of flying in space. This book offers a first-hand account of the MOL program for the first time. Shrouded in secrecy, the MOL program was declassified by the National Reconnaissance Office in 2015. This is the first opportunity many participants had to share their experiences with anyone outside their small cadres. The bulk of the book is written in their words, taken directly from transcripts of oral history interviews and official documents and transcripts written by the officers who participated in and managed the programs. 

Although the program was cancelled far sooner than participants and program leadership hoped, both programs served as a unique training ground for the individuals who would go on to see remarkable success. This is their story

FOREWORD v

PREFACE vii

INTRODUCTION  ix

CHAPTER 1 THE GENESIS & BEGINNINGS OF MOL 1

DynaSoar  1

The MOL Concept and End of DynaSoar 2

Early Studies  3

MOL Experiments 5

MOL’s Proponents and Critics  7

MOL and the Public  8

MOL on the International Stage  9

MOL Takes Shape  11

The Program Office ..................................................................................................................... 13

MOL Goes Public 13

Establishing a Program Office  14

The Mechanics of MOL 16

MOL Contractors  21

An Updated Management Approach 22

Endnotes  24

CHAPTER 2 THE MOL PILOTS .29

Selecting the First Group  29

The First Group of MOL Pilots 31

Selecting the Second Group 35

The Second Group of MOL Pilots 36

Selecting the Third Group  38

The Third Group of MOL Pilots 39

Endnotes  42

CHAPTER 3 MOL UP AND RUNNING 45

Integrating Man 45

Individual Roles 46

A New Concept For Man 49

The Role of the Astronaut  52

iv

In The Words of Those Who Served Training the Crew  54

Water Training 55

Survival Training 56

Cross-Organizational Training  58

MOL’s Secrecy  58

MOL’s Relationship with NASA  60

The MOL Build-Up  61

Endnotes  63

CHAPTER 4 THE END OF MOL  69

The Debate over the Necessity of Man  69

The Soviet Concern 73

The Importance of Very High Resolution Reconnaissance 74

The NASA/DoD Overlap 75

Budget Challenges 76

MOL’s Slipping Schedule  78

Justifying MOL 80

MOL Continues  83

Talk of Cancellation  84

Terminating MOL 87

MOL’s Termination and its People 90

MOL’s Termination and its Hardware 92

Looking Back and Lessons Learned 93

Endnotes  95

INDEX 103

Historians, educators, anyone associated with, or believers in, the manned orbiting program and space based reconnaissance would be interested in this complete history of the MOL program.