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MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARIAT RECORD 

SUBJECT: Proceedings of Air Force MOL Policy Committee Meeting 65-3, 

14 October 1965 

1. The Committee met at 1405, General Blanchard in attendance as alternate 

to General McConnell. Because it was necessary for Secretary Brown to 

depart at 1500, the agenda was rearranged to present action items first. 

2. MOL Crew Member Selection/Information Plan. 

Major Loret reviewed the selection criteria used by the AFSC and Hq USAF 

selection boards and those additional security criteria prescribed by Dr. 

McMillan under USAFINTEL Regulation 201-1 and AFR 205-34, Ultra Sensitive 

Position Program. Presentation of background biographical data on the six 

Air Force and two Navy selectees was followed by presentation of the 

schedule of activity from the present requirement to assign the selectees 

to the program through the training program leading to first flight. The 

primary problem of whether or not the selection and assignment should be 

publicized was discussed in terms of possible courses of action and the 

advantages and disadvantages attendant to each option. 

Although it was agreed that a no-release policy would better serve 

program security, the Committee acknowledged that news of the assignment 

was of such national interest that it would leak out anyway. On the basis 

that it would be preferable to preempt a leak and the resulting questions 

that would be generated, it was decided that USAF should propose to OSD 

that a law-key release be made from the MOL Systems Office, Los Angeles. 

Secretary Brown directed that a comprehensive plan to implement this 

decision be formulated and coordinated with appropriate DOD agencies before 

any release is made. In keeping with a low key policy, the Committee 

agreed that the MOL crew members should bear the title "MOL Aerospace 

Research Pilots." 

3. MOL Advisory Committee. 

Colonel Norman presented a review of previous actions taken to establish 

r]; the MOL Advisory Committee and current status on proposed membership. He 

>4 stated that Dr. Land and Dr. Purcell had indicated to the National Academy i--1 )-4 

C:4 44 of Science their reluctance to participate on the basis of possible conflict 

CO

O of interest with their responsibilities as members of the President's c_, ,.., 

Plc) Z 

Science Advisory Committee (PSAC). 

C.) 

I-i NI rn Establishment pf the MOL Advisory Committee was endorsed by all members 

1 2 of the MOL Policy Committee. Secretary Brown indicated his desire that, if 

0 at all possible, Dr. Land and/or Dr. Purcell should be made members. It E--, 

=D'-1 was agreed that Dr. Flax, with General Schriever, would consult with Dr. 

0 Hornig, Director, Office of Science and Technology, in order to resolve the 

0 cV 

C4 4) 

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conflict of interest issue. Concerning the role of the Advisory Committee, 

the Secretary indicated that in the interest of cost effectiveness, 

scientific experiments should be accommodated by MOL insofar as is possible, 

consistent with achievement of primary MOL mission objectives. 

4. MOL Flight Schedule. 

Dr. Yarymovych discussed the possibility of slippage of the first 

manned flight (with operational HRO reconnaissance equipment on board) from 

late 1968, as announced by the President, until March 1969. The possibility 

of slippage was attributed to delay in obtaining program approval and 

possible delay in procuring long lead time items required for the HRO 

mission module. Proposed solutions were either to officially slip the 

launch date or to provide an alternate backup payload, the latter to be 

flown if necessary to meet the presently scheduled launch date. 

The Committee agreed that if at all possible the launch date announced 

by the President should be made good, and that every attempt should be made 

to compress the MOL development schedule so as to permit demonstration of 

operational HRO reconnaissance equipment on the first flight. Although the 

Committee recognized that slippage might materialize downstream in' he 

program, it was decided that no adjustment in the schedule should be made 

at this time. In order to provide an option, it was agreed that a backup, 

parallel effort should be initiated to provide an alternate experiments 

payload which could be available to make the late 1968 launch date. It 

was acknowledged by the Committee that an additional mission module may 

eventually have to be procured in pursuing the parallel effort. Secretary 

Brown directed that the necessary action be taken. He emphasized the 

requirement that the alternate payload be one which would make a material 

contribution to program objectives, as opposed to an indiscriminate payload 

which would merely serve to make the schedule good. 

5. Prior to the 1505 departure of the Secretary, several other critical 

topics were raised for discussion: 

a. Titan IIIC Strap-ons: The Secretary stated that in view of the 

success enjoyed with the 120-inch diameter solid propellant strap-on 

motors in the current Titan III program, he did not consider it advisable 

to contemplate possible use of alternate strap-ons for the MOL program. 

In passing, he further indicated he did not favor liquid propellant 

strap-ons for au Titan III application. He was assured by Dr. Flax and 

General Schriever that although proposals had been received from industry 

concerning use of alternate strap-on motors, there was no intent to use 

them for MOL application. They stated that the firm program plan is to 

use seven-segment 120-inch solids, which, accompanied by other performance 

improvements in the launch vehicle, would be adequate in meeting MOL 

payload requirements. 

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b. Manned versus Unmanned Payload: The Secretary reiterated the 

PSAC requirement that the MOL be configured so as to provide quantitative 

data which could be used to determine whether manned or unmanned conduct 

of orbital HRO reconnaissance would be more cost effective. In addition, 

demonstration of the equipment in the unmanned mode would provide a backup 

capability for conduct of reconnaissance over Communist Bloc Territory if 

the international climate in the 1968-1970 time period were to be such that 

manned overflight would be precluded. The Secretary stated his commitment 

to PSAC to provide a plan leading to demonstration of an HRO reconnaissance 

capability in the unmanned mode within nine months of the first manned 

flight. 

In view of these requirements, the Secretary wanted to be sure 

that the MOL program would provide the required data and the desired 

unmanned capability. Dr. Flax and General Schriever assured him that the 

program does provide for this requirement. The approach being taken was 

to optimize the HRO sensor with man in-the-loop, and then automate the 

functions necessary to permit unmanned operation at the best possible 

resolution. The Secretary agreed with this approach. The Secretary was 

further informed that the MOL Systems Office and the Director, Special 

Projects were currently working on the problem.' involved and that a 

recommended approach based on results of the current study effort were due 

in mid-December, 1965. 

c. The Secretary voiced concern over the possibility that the separate 

"black" and "white" MOL contractual efforts could possibly result in 

unnecessary duplication in the area of software, TTC, computers, etc. He 

was informed that all RFP's, contracts, etc. had been reviewed to insure 

non-duplicative effort, and that the process of reviewing for duplication 

would continue. General Schriever pointed out that the associate contractor 

management structure, to be described in the presentation on MOL management 

structure, makes the possibility of duplicative effort highly unlikely. 

d. With particular reference to management of "black" and "white" MOL 

funds, General Schriever voiced the requirement for a streamlined management arrangement above USAF level, with DDR&E as the preferred focal point 

for MOL. It was agreed that a paper should be prepared on this subject 

based on preliminary discussions to be held by Dr. Flax and General Schriever 

with Dr. Foster. Secretary Brown stated that after these preliminary 

c.; discussions were completed, he would discuss the matter with the Secretary 

1-4 of Defense. With regard to Systems Analysis that might be performed at 

P.4 oL OSD level, presumably, by ASD (Systems Analysis), General Schriever stated 

his preference that such studies should be performed within the MOL pa E- 0 program under ground rules specified by OSD. Secretary Brown stated that 

c.) he would discuss this matter with Secretary McNamara also. 

CC) O 

ti A e. The Committee noted a requirement for strengthening of the Douglas 

Systems Engineering capability. General Schriever stated that the MOL 

c; 0 

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Systems Office was aware of the problem and was taking the necessary action. 

The Committee agreed that this activity was properly a function of the MOL 

Systems Office. 

6. Systems Status. 

Colonel Randall presented a status report on key aspects of the program, 

including the following information: Eastman Kodak has been awarded a 

fixed price contract, with Douglas and General Electric to be on contract 

in a matter of days; the Contract Definition Phase was under way as of 

1 October 1965, to last approximately seven months; the HSQ flight is to 

be conducted in October 1966 at ETR with consideration being given to a 

second HSQ flight if required; on contractor structure, all associates 

will be managed by the Deputy Director, MOL except the HRO sensor contractor 

who is under Director, Special Projects supervision; planned improvements 

to the Titan IIIC will provide the necessary performance to meet mission 

payload requirements in the required high inclination, higher than nominal 

TIIIC altitude orbits; in presentation of Contract Definition Phase funding 

requirements, it was pointed out that all proposed GE funding was presently 

"black" money, ranking it difficult to make any public announcement of 

consummation of the GE contract. 

7. Payloads Status. 

Colonel Norman reviewed the 

HRO reconnaissance, SIGINT, and 

following highlights: 

status and plan of action being taken on 

Ocean Surveillance missions, including the 

a. HRO Reconnaissance: A decision on whether to use an in-line 

configuration, utilizing a large flat tracking mirror, or a configuration 

in which the entire telescope is pointed and tracked, is anticipated to 

be made in mid-December. 

in a manned MOL application. Present 

SIGINT activity is directed at the formulation of parametric design data 

to establish the feasibility of proposing a MOL CONINT mission. 

c. Ocean Surveillance: Ocean Surveillance activity is presently 

directed at collecting data on key system elements, obtaining operating 

data on key components, and in developing some initial conclusions upon 

which to base a decision as to whether or not a manned approach to Ocean 

Surveillance using MOL should be pursued. One problem in the Ocean 

Surveillance area, not yet solved, is a determination of whether or not 

this effort, or portions thereof, should be "black" or "white: This 

decision will have a major impact on the Ocean Surveillance management and 

contractor structure, on contracting methods, contract management and 

funding arrangements. 

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General Blanchard mentioned that a proposal by the Department of State 

to initiate an offer to the U.S.S.R. of pre-launch inspection of MOL on 

a reciprocal basis was recently considered by the JCS, but was rejected 

as contrary to national security. He did state that the Army and Navy 

were somewhat reluctant in their support of this position. As a related 

item, Dr. Flax stated that NASA was becoming more and more involved in 

high resolution optics in pursuance of its mission. The implication of 

this discussion was that events outside MOL might play an important role 

in determining whether the program would progress to fruition. 

8. MOL Management Structure. 

Colonel Randall presented a review of the responsibilities and interrelationships of the associate contractor structure. General Schriever, 

as Director, MOL, stated that he was satisfied with the contractor 

management structure, as presented, with overall responsibility for contractor direction under the Deputy Director. Although a few matters still 

need to be worked out with Dr. Flax, he stated that the only remaining 

major management problem was the need for a MOL focal point within OSD. 

9. The meeting adjourned at 1540. 

HARRY L. ANS 

Brigadier General, USAF 

Vice Director, MOL Program 

Executive Secretary 

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