Editing Manned Orbiting Laboratory (section)

== Background ==
At the height of the [[Cold War]] in the mid-1950s, the [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) was particularly interested in the [[Soviet Union]]'s military and industrial capabilities. Starting in 1956, the United States conducted covert [[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] spy plane overflights of the Soviet Union. Twenty-four U-2 missions produced images of about 15 percent of the country with a maximum resolution of {{convert|2|ft|m|order=flip|sp=us}} before the [[1960 U-2 incident|downing of a U-2 in 1960]] abruptly ended the program.{{sfn|David|2017|p=768}} This left a gap in American espionage capabilities that it was hoped spy satellites would fill.{{sfn|Homer|2019|pp=2–3}} In July 1957{{snd}}before anyone had flown in space{{snd}}the USAF [[Wright Air Development Center]] published a paper that considered the development of a space station equipped with telescopes and other observation devices.{{sfn|Berger|2015|p=2}} The USAF had already started a satellite program in 1956 called WS-117L. This had three components: [[SAMOS]], a spy satellite; [[Corona (satellite)|Corona]], an experimental program to develop the technology; and [[Missile Defense Alarm System|MIDAS]], an early warning system.{{sfn|Divine|1993|p=11}}

[[File:General Bernard A Schriever (square crop).jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|General [[Bernard Adolph Schriever]], the director of the MOL program from 1962 to 1966]]
The launch of [[Sputnik 1]], the first [[satellite]], by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957, came as a profound shock to the American public, which had assumed American technical superiority.{{sfn|Swenson|Grimwood|Alexander|1966|pp=28–29, 37}}{{sfn|Homer|2019|p=1}} One benefit of the [[Sputnik crisis]] was that no government protested Sputnik's overflying their territory, thereby tacitly acknowledging the legality of satellites. While there was a big difference between Sputnik and a spy satellite, it made it much harder for the Soviets to object to overflights by satellites from another country.{{sfn|Divine|1993|pp=11–12}} In February 1958, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] ordered the USAF to proceed as quickly as possible with Corona as a joint interim project with the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA).{{sfn|Wheeldon|1998|p=33}}{{sfn|Day|1998|p=48}}

In August 1958, Eisenhower decided to give responsibility for most forms of human space flight to the [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (NASA). [[Deputy Secretary of Defense]] [[Donald A. Quarles]] transferred US$53.8 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US-GDP|53.8|1958}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) that had been set aside for USAF space projects to NASA.{{sfn|Swenson|Grimwood|Alexander|1966|pp=101–102}} This left the USAF with a few programs with direct military impact.{{sfn|Berger|2015|p=4}} One was a delta-wing, rocket-propelled glider that came to be called the [[Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar]].{{sfn|Swenson|Grimwood|Alexander|1966|p=71}} The USAF remained interested in space, and in March 1959, the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|Chief of Staff of the Air Force]], [[General (United States)|General]] [[Thomas D. White]] asked the USAF Director of Development Planning to prepare a long-range plan for a USAF space program. One project identified in the plan was a "manned orbital laboratory".{{sfn|Berger|2015|p=5}}

The USAF [[Air Research and Development Command]] (ARDC) issued a request to the [[Aeronautical Systems Division]] (ASD) at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] on 1 September 1959 for a formal study to be conducted of a military test space station (MTSS). The ASD asked components of the ARDC for suggestions as to what sort of experiments would be suitable for an MTSS, and 125 proposals were received. A [[request for proposal]] (RFP) was then issued on 19 February 1960, and twelve firms responded. On 15 August 1960, [[General Electric]], [[Lockheed Aircraft]], [[Glenn L. Martin Company]], [[McDonnell Aircraft Corporation]], and [[General Dynamics]] shared US$574,999 (equivalent to ${{format price|{{inflation|US-GDP|574,999|1961}} }} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) for a study of the MTSS.{{sfn|Berger|2015|p=5}} Their preliminary reports were submitted in January 1961, and final reports were received by July 1961. With these in hand, on 16 August 1961, the USAF submitted a request for US$5 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US-GDP|5|1961}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in funding for [[space station]] studies in [[fiscal year]] 1963, but no funding was forthcoming.{{sfn|Berger|2015|pp=6–8}}

In its 26 April 1961 project plan, Dyna-Soar was to be launched into space on a suborbital ballistic trajectory by a [[HGM-25A Titan I|Titan I]] booster, its first piloted suborbital flight in April 1965, followed by its first piloted orbital flight in April 1966.{{sfn|Houchin|1995|p=273}}{{sfn|Houchin|1995|p=279}} In a 22 February 1962 memorandum to the [[Secretary of the Air Force]], [[Eugene Zuckert]], the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], [[Robert McNamara]], decided to fast track Dyna-Soar and save money by skipping the suborbital testing phase; the Dyna-Soar was now planned to be launched by a [[Titan (rocket family)|Titan III]] booster.{{sfn|Berger|2015|pp=6–8}}{{sfn|Erickson|2005|p=353}}{{sfn|Houchin|1995|p=311}}

[[File:MOL patch from NRO.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|MOL patch]]

The same 22 February 1962 memorandum gave tacit approval for the development of a space station. The USAF staff and the [[Air Force Systems Command]] (AFSC) began planning for a space station, which was now known as a [[Military Orbital Development System]] (MODS). By the end of May 1962, a proposed system package plan (PSPP) had been drawn up. For tracking purposes, it was designated Program 287. MODS consisted of a space station, a modified NASA [[Gemini spacecraft]] that became known as [[Blue Gemini]], and a Titan III launch vehicle. The space station was expected to provide a [[shirt-sleeve environment]] for a crew of four for up to 30 days.{{sfn|Berger|2015|pp=6–8}} On 25 August 1962, Zuckert informed General [[Bernard Adolph Schriever]], the commander of the AFSC, that he was to proceed with studies of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) as the director of the program.{{sfn|Homer|2019|p=2}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nro.gov/Portals/65/documents/foia/declass/mol/2.pdf|title=Memorandum for Director, Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) Program – Subject: Authorization To Proceed With MOL Program|first=Eugene |last=Zuckert|author-link=Eugene Zuckert|publisher=National(Reconnaissance Office|date=25 August 1962|access-date=9 April 2020}}</ref> The name was chosen because NASA did not want the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] (DoD) to use the term "space station".{{sfn|Berger|2015|p=28}}

On 9 November 1962, Zuckert submitted his proposals to McNamara. For fiscal year 1964, he requested US$75 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US-GDP|75|1962}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in funding for MODS and US$102 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US-GDP|102|1961}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) for Blue Gemini.{{sfn|Berger|2015|p=10}} Since [[Project Gemini]] was now associated with national security, McNamara considered taking over the entire project from NASA, but after some negotiation with NASA, McNamara and [[NASA Administrator]] [[James E. Webb]] reached an agreement on collaboration on the project in January 1963.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=120–122}}

McNamara called for a review of whether Dyna-Soar had military capabilities that could not be met by Gemini, on 18 January 1963. In his 14 November 1963 response, the [[Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering|Director of Defense Research and Engineering]] (DDR&E), [[Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense)|Harold Brown]], examined options for a space station. He preferred a four-man station that would be launched separately and crewed by astronauts arriving in Gemini spacecraft. Crews would rotate every 30 days, with resupply of consumables arriving every 120 days.{{sfn|Berger|2015|pp=25–27}}{{sfn|Erickson|2005|pp=370–371}} On 10 December 1963, McNamara issued a press release that officially announced the cancellation of Dyna-Soar and the initiation of the MOL program.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.nro.gov/Portals/65/documents/foia/declass/mol/6.pdf|title=Air Force to Develop Manned Orbiting Laboratory|publisher=Department of Defense|date=10 December 1963|access-date=9 April 2020}}</ref>

Soon after coming to office, the [[Kennedy administration]] tightened security regarding spy satellites in response to Soviet sensitivities.{{sfn|Berger|2015|pp=37–38}} No administration official would even admit they existed until President [[Jimmy Carter]] did so in 1978.{{sfn|Erickson|2005|pp=378–379}} MOL was therefore a semi-secret project, with a public face but a covert reconnaissance mission, similar to that of the secret Corona spy satellite program.{{sfn|Homer|2019|p=8}}