Editing Manned Orbiting Laboratory (section)

== Legacy ==
McLucas wrote that canceling MOL saved the government $1.5 billion over the following three years. NRO received some of the savings, and an official with the non-NRO [[Defense Support Program]] said that "MOL saved our ass".{{r|tsr20240102}}

Following the cancellation, a committee was formed to handle the disposal of its assets, valued at US$12.5 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US-GDP|12.5|1969}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}). The Acquisition and Tracking System, Mission Development Simulator, Laboratory Module Simulator, and Mission Simulator were transferred to NASA by the end of 1973. The MOL Program Office at the Pentagon closed on 15 February 1970, and the office in Los Angeles on 30 September 1970. The Director of Space Systems, Brigadier General Allen, became the point of contact for contracts that were terminated, but those with [[Aerojet]], [[McDonnell Douglas]], and the [[United Technologies Corporation]] (UTC) were still open in June 1973.{{sfn|Homer|2019|pp=92–93}} The Aerojet contract had only small claims totaling US$9,888 ({{inflation|US-GDP|9888|1969|fmt=eq}}), but there remained reservations of US$771,569 (equivalent to ${{format price|{{inflation|US-GDP|771569|1973}} }} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) on the McDonnell Douglas contract due to a subcontractor dispute and [[California]] [[franchise tax]]. The UTC contract was still worth up to US$51 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US-GDP|51|1973}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}), the actual amount depending on how much work was attributable to the MOL, and how much to the ongoing work on Titan III.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nro.gov/Portals/65/documents/foia/declass/mol/822.pdf|title=MOL Status|publisher=National Reconnaissance Office  |date=5 June 1973|access-date=9 April 2020}}</ref>

[[File:MOL-Space-Suit-02.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|MH-7 training suit]]
At the time the MOL was canceled, 192 service and 100 civilian personnel were employed on MOL activities. Within weeks, 80 percent of the service personnel were given new duty assignments. The civilians were reassigned to the [[Space and Missile Systems Organization]] (SAMSO).{{sfn|Homer|2019|p=90}} The service personnel included fourteen of the seventeen MOL astronauts.{{sfn|Homer|2019|p=87}} Finley had returned to the U.S. Navy in April 1968,{{sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2017|p=230}} and Adams had left in July 1966 to join the X-15 program. He flew in space on [[X-15 Flight 3-65-97|his seventh flight]] on 15 November 1967, only to be killed when his aircraft broke up.<ref>{{cite web|title=X-15 Biography – Michael J. Adams|publisher=NASA|url=https://history.nasa.gov/x15/adams.html|access-date=14 April 2020}}</ref> Lawrence had died in an [[F-104]] crash at Edwards Air Force Base on 8 December 1967.{{sfn|Homer|2019|pp=40–41}} All the remaining fourteen except Herres wanted to transfer to NASA. [[Deke Slayton]], NASA Director of Flight Crew Operations, believed that he did not need more astronauts. [[George Mueller (NASA)|George Mueller]], NASA Deputy Administrator, wanted to maintain good relations with the USAF. Slayton took the seven MOL pilots 35 or younger as [[NASA Astronaut Group 7]]; all flew on the [[Space Shuttle]], starting with Crippen on [[STS-1]]. NASA also took Crews as a test pilot, and he would fly NASA aircraft until 1994.<ref name="50 years ago"/>{{sfn|Homer|2019|pp=91–92}}{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|pp=249–251}} Due to their exposure to highly classified information, those who did not transfer to NASA could not engage in combat for three years because of the risk of capture. Not being able to serve in Vietnam hurt their careers, and some soon left the military.{{r|day20190826}}

The Titan III booster became a mainstay of the military satellite program. The Titan IIIC version was capable of lifting {{convert|20000|lb|order=flip|sp=us}} into low Earth orbit;{{sfn|Heppenheimer|1998|p=199}} its successor, the [[Titan IIID]] developed for Hexagon,{{sfn|Heppenheimer|2002|p=78}} could lift {{convert|30000|lb|order=flip|sp=us}}, and the Titan IIIM developed for the MOL would have been able to lift {{convert|38000|lb|order=flip|sp=us}}. NASA's [[Saturn IB]] could lift {{convert|36000|lb|order=flip|sp=us}}, but the cost of a Titan IIIM launch was half that of Saturn IB.{{sfn|Heppenheimer|1998|p=199}} The Titan IIIM never flew, but the [[UA120#UA1207|UA1207]] [[solid rocket booster]]s developed for the MOL were eventually used on the [[Titan IV]],{{sfn|Corcoran|Morefield|1972|p=113}} and the [[Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster]]s were based on materials, processes, and the UA1207 design developed for MOL, with only minor changes.{{sfn|United Technology Center|1972|p=2{{hyphen}}117}} NASA also used work on the Gemini B [[spacesuit]]s for the agency's own suits, MOL's waste management system flew on [[Skylab]], and [[NASA Earth Science]] used other MOL equipment.<ref name="50 years ago"/> The prototype IMLSS is in the National Museum of the United States Air Force.{{sfn|Thomas|McMann|2006|pp=230–233}}

Gambit 3's resolution did eventually become comparable to Dorian's, in part using optics technology developed for Dorian. The [[Hubble Space Telescope]], and [[KH-11 Kennen]] satellites that NRO began developing in 1971, also used the technology; by the 1980s Kennen reached Dorian's resolution or better. While no unmanned satellite used Dorian's own optics, mirrors had been ordered early in the program and were almost complete. Six honeycombed [[borosilicate glass]] mirrors made by [[Corning Inc.|Corning]] for MOL, each with a diameter of {{convert|72|inch|cm|order=flip|sp=us}}, were combined to make the [[MMT Observatory#Multiple Mirror Telescope (1979–1998)|Multiple Mirror Telescope]] in [[Arizona]], the third largest optical telescope in the world at the time of its dedication.<ref>{{cite news|title=All Along the Watchtower|publisher=The Space Review|first=Dwayne A.|last=Day
|author-link=Dwayne A. Day |date=February 11, 2008|url=https://www.thespacereview.com/article/1057/1|access-date=August 2, 2020}}</ref>{{r|tsr20240102}}

[[File:Reunion at the National Museum of the Air Force.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|Reunion at the National Museum of the Air Force in 2015. Left to right: NRO chief historian James D. Outzen and former director Robert MacDonald, and MOL astronauts [[Albert H. Crews|Al Crews]] and [[Bob Crippen]].]]
At the time of cancellation, work on Space Launch Complex 6 was 92 percent complete. The main task remaining was conducting [[acceptance tests]]. It was decided to complete the construction and tests, but not install the aerospace ground equipment, and then place the facility in [[Caretaker (military)|caretaker]] status, with a caretaker crew provided by the [[6595th Aerospace Test Wing]].<ref>{{cite report|title=Review of MOL Residuals|pages=42–46|date=1 August 1968|url=https://www.nro.gov/Portals/65/documents/foia/declass/mol/763.pdf|publisher=National Reconnaissance Office  |access-date=9 April 2020}}</ref> In 1972, the USAF decided to refurbish SLC-6 for use with the Space Shuttle.{{sfn|Heppenheimer|2002|pp=81–83}} This cost more than anticipated, some US$2.5 billion (equivalent to ${{inflation|US-GDP|2.5|1984}} billion in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}), and the date of the first launch had to be postponed from June 1984 to July 1986.{{sfn|Heppenheimer|2002|pp=362–366}} The airport runway at [[Easter Island]] developed for MOL was extended by another {{convert|1,420|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} to {{convert|11055|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} to allow for an emergency Space Shuttle landing and a piggyback retrieval by a modified [[Boeing 747]] [[Shuttle Carrier Aircraft]], at a cost of US$7.5 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US-GDP|7.5|1985}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).<ref>{{cite news|title=Lonely Easter Island Will Be Emergency Shuttle Landing Site |first=Anthony|last=Boadle|date=30 June 1985|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-06-30-mn-70-story.html|access-date=22 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Emergency Space Shuttle Landing Strip Opened|first=Anthony|last=Boadle|date=17 August 1987|agency=UPI Archives|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/08/17/Emergency-space-shuttle-landing-strip-opened/9293556171200/ |access-date=22 May 2020}}</ref> Preparations were underway for STS-62-A, the launch of the {{OV|103|full=nolink}} from SLC-6, commanded by MOL astronaut Bob Crippen and Aldridge aboard, when the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]] occurred in January 1986. Plans for Space Shuttle launches from SLC-6 were abandoned, and none ever flew from there. No Space Shuttle was ever launched into a polar orbit. From 2006 to 2022, SLC-6 was used for [[Delta IV]] launches, including NRO [[KH-11 Kennan]] satellites.{{sfn|Heppenheimer|2002|pp=362–366}}<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Spaceflight Now|title=Slick 6: 30 Years After the Hopes of a West Coast Space Shuttle|date=8 February 2016|first=Justin|last=Ray |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2016/02/08/astronaut-interview-30-years-after-the-hopes-of-a-west-coast-space-shuttle/|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref> Currently, the launch site is getting converted by [[SpaceX]] to support [[Falcon 9]] and [[Falcon Heavy]] launches starting in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-24 |title=SPACE LAUNCH DELTA 30 TO LEASE SPACE LAUNCH COMPLEX 6 TO SPACE X |url=https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3351366/space-launch-delta-30-to-lease-space-launch-complex-6-to-space-x/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=Vandenberg Space Force Base |language=en-US}}</ref>

Some items of MOL equipment made their way to museums. The Gemini B spacecraft used in the only flight of the MOL program is on display at the [[Air Force Space and Missile Museum]] at [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afspacemuseum.org/displays/GeminiCapsule/|title=Gemini Capsule|publisher=Air Force Space and Missile Museum|access-date=17 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710162142/http://www.afspacemuseum.org/displays/GeminiCapsule/|archive-date=10 July 2020}}</ref> A Gemini B spacecraft used for ground-based testing is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]], (on loan from the [[National Air and Space Museum]]). Like the other Gemini B spacecraft, it is differentiated from the NASA Gemini spacecraft by the words "U.S. AIR FORCE" painted on it, with accompanying insignia, and by the circular hatch cut through its heat shield.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/198109/gemini-spacecraft/|title=Gemini Spacecraft|publisher=National Museum of the U.S. Air Force|date=5 April 2020}}</ref> Two MH-7 training spacesuits from the MOL program were discovered in a locked room in the [[Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 5]] museum on [[Cape Canaveral]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/found_mol_spacesuits.html|title=Suits for Space Spies|publisher=NASA|first=Ashley|last=Nutter|date=2 June 2005|access-date=12 February 2011|archive-date=6 June 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050606002223/http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/found_mol_spacesuits.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Crippen donated his MOL spacesuit to the National Air and Space Museum in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|first=Steven|last=Siceloff|date=13 July 2007|publisher=NASA|title=Spacesuits Open Doors to MOL History|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/history/molsuits.html|access-date=4 April 2020|archive-date=8 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108013228/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/history/molsuits.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pressure Suit, Manned Orbiting Laboratory|publisher=National Air and Space Museum|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/pressure-suit-manned-orbiting-laboratory/nasm_A19730861000|access-date= 4 April 2020}}</ref>

In July 2015, the NRO declassified over eight hundred files and photos related to the MOL program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nro.gov/Freedom-of-Information-Act-FOIA/Declassified-Records/Special-Collections/MOL/|title=Index, Declassified Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) Records|publisher=National Reconnaissance Office|access-date=16 December 2018|archive-date=16 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216163702/http://www.nro.gov/Freedom-of-Information-Act-FOIA/Declassified-Records/Special-Collections/MOL/|url-status=dead}}</ref> A book by the Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance oral historian Courtney V.K. Homer about the MOL program, ''Spies in Space'' (2019), was based on documents released by the NRO and interviews she conducted with Abrahamson, Bobko, Crippen, Crews, Macleay, and Truly.<ref name=day20190826>{{cite news|publisher=The Space Review|first=Dwayne|last=Day|author-link=Dwayne A. Day|date=26 August 2019|title=Review: Spies in Space|url=https://www.thespacereview.com/article/3780/1|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Homer|2019|pp=v–vii}}