MOL Program: Expanding US Military Intelligence in Space
In the 1960s, America faced challenges in gathering intelligence on foreign countries. While spy aircraft like the Lockheed U-2 provided high-quality images, they were vulnerable to being shot down and provoking foreign governments. On the other hand, satellite photo reconnaissance offered protection from anti-aircraft missiles and was less provocative, but it resulted in delayed data transmission and low-quality images.
To address these issues, the manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program was initiated. The goal was to enhance US military intelligence capabilities by combining two methods: using a manned spy satellite in space. This program was a joint project of the US Air Force and the National Military Space Directorate, launched in response to the Caribbean crisis of 1962, amidst the Cold War and the War in Vietnam. President Lyndon B. Johnson approved the project in August 1965, initially presenting it as an operation to study human capabilities in space. The MOL program aimed to obtain high-quality photographs of foreign adversaries, allowing real-time decision-making on when and where to capture images regardless of cloud cover or data transfer delays.
The MOL program planned for six launches, each with a duration of 2 to 4 weeks. A crew of two people would start on a modified Gemini capsule and return to Earth after the mission, while the MOL satellite remained in orbit. The primary payload of MOL was a military intelligence telescope with a 182.8 cm-diameter mirror, codenamed “Dorian.”
Criticism, Delays, and Budget Excess
Despite being publicly portrayed as a mission to study human capabilities in space, the main objective of the MOL program was highly classified. The first and only launch of the MOL program took place at the Air Force launch pad in Cape Canaveral on November 3, 1966. It was a test launch involving the Gemini capsule and MOL layout without image acquisition equipment aboard the Titan-IIC missile. The layout successfully entered Earth’s orbit and released three satellites. However, 30 days after launch, MOL ceased data transmission and left orbit on January 9, 1967.
Since the MOL program operated under the guise of “checking the capabilities of a person in space,” it appeared too similar to NASA’s Apollo program in the public eye. As a result, Congress deemed it duplicative and reduced its funding by 60