A Case Study in NASA-DoD - The Black Vault

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it also began to exercise its increasing bargaining power by asking for
a voice in military-managed projects needed by both DoD and NASA. NASA
also asserted its identity in the DoD complex by establishing independent
field installations at both the Pacific and Atlantic missile
launch sites. (11)
1963-1965
During this period, both NASA and DoD faced the problem of rapidly
increasing program costs and the resulting program reviews, cancellations,
and realignment. For the DoD, their last remaining connection
with the manned spaceflight program, Project Dyna-Soar, faced ultimate
cancellation because of technical problems, increasing cost, and competition
with NASA projects. Nevertheless, with NASA concentrating
mainly on the lunar-landing mission, the Air Force surfaced a variety
of manned space projects for operation in low earth orbit. These included
the Manned Orbital Development System (MODS) and Blue Gemini.
These projects were returned to the Air Force for further study.
In 1963, Defense Secretary McNamara stated the following criteria
for DoD space programs:
First, it must mesh with the efforts of the NASA in
all vital areas.... Second, projects supported by
DoD must promise, insofar as possible to enhance
our military power and effectiveness.4l1)
As a consequence, DoD joined forces with NASA on a number of projects,
one of which contained the agreement "that the DoD and NASA will initiate
major new programs or projects in the field of manned spaceflight
aimed chiefly at the attainment of experimental or other capabilities
in near-earth orbit only by mutual agreement." ' ( 1 ) These
agreements effectively blocked all DoD manned space projects until
Secretary McNamara unilaterally assigned the Air Force a new program
for the development of a near-earth manned orbiting laboratory (MDL)
on December 10, 1963, at the same time that he cancelled the Dyna-Soar
program. In justifying his decision on ML, Secretary McNamara said:
"Their [NASA] program is related to the lunar program ... they have