NRO-MOL_2015

Contents
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Contents
Foreword................................................................................................................................................................... ix
Preface...................................................................................................................................................................... xi
Introduction..............................................................................................................................................................xiii
Carl Berger’s - “A History of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program Office”
Chapter I: Early Space Station Planning ..................................................................................................................1
The Air Force Initiates Space Station Planning .............................................................................................2
The Military Orbital Development System .....................................................................................................5
MODS, Blue Gemini, and the Five-Year Space Program ..............................................................................9
The NASA-DoD Gemini Agreement .............................................................................................................10
Chapter II: A National Space Station........................................................................................................................15
Air Force Proposes a National Space Station .............................................................................................17
McNamara’s Report to Vice President Johnson ..........................................................................................18
A New NASA-DoD Space Station Agreement .............................................................................................19
The Air Force OSS Study ............................................................................................................................20
Chapter III: DYNA-SOAR Killed, MOL Approved.....................................................................................................25
The Dyna-Soar/Gemini Review ...................................................................................................................25
Brown Recommends a Defense Space Station and NASA Makes a Counter-Proposal .............................27
The Air Force’s Last Effort to Save Dyna-Soar ............................................................................................28
Announcement of the MOL Project ..............................................................................................................30
The DoD-NASA MOL Agreement ................................................................................................................31
Chapter IV: Planning the Manned Orbiting Laboratory December 1963-June 1964................................................35
The Air Force Response ..............................................................................................................................36
Policy for the Conduct of the MOL Program ................................................................................................41
MOL Pre-Phase I Go-Ahead is Approved ....................................................................................................43
Chapter V: Evolution of the MOL Management Structure........................................................................................47
Chapter VI: Results of the Pre-Phase I Investigation...............................................................................................51
Alternative MOL Schedules .........................................................................................................................51
DoD/NASA “Duplication, “Congressional Criticism and the Budget Conference of 7-8 December 1964 ....52