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HEADQUARTERS 

SPACE SYSTEMS DIVISION 

AIR FORCE SYSTEMS COMMAND 

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE 

Ait Force Unit Post Office, Los Angeles, California 90045 

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ATTN OF: SSMM 2 Dec 1964 REPLY TO 

S:CCT: Gemini/14M Experiments 

: SSG-1 

1. (U) In response to Mr. Preston's inquiry on 23 NoveMber 64 

regarding NASA/DOD Gemini and DOD/MOL Experiments, the attached 

material is forwarded to help clarify the differences between the 

two programs. 

2. (S) In defining the NASA/DOD Gemini experiments, the basic 

objective was to identify those elements of participation which 

contribute to the following mission objectives: 

a. 

b. Observation of surface activities to provide intelligence, 

warning and targeting data. 

c. Retaliation from a space platform by bombardment or by 

other forms of attack of hostile activities. 

d. Development of protective measures to safeguard satellite 

activities from hostile action and other developments of reliable 

space hardware through in-space experiments conducted under active 

manned control. 

The selection of experiments was tempered by several factors: 

(1) The Gemini Program schedule and essential objectives 

of Manned Lunar Landing Program must not be jeopardized. 

(2) The weight, volume, power required to perform the 

experiment must be consistent with the restricted capabilities of 

Gemini. 

(3) The experiments must be performed within the time 

and schedules available. 

(4) Modifications to the Gemini spacecraft must be kept 

at a minimum. 

(5) Funding limitations. 

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These factors limited the experiments to those which could 

collect a bare minimum of data over short periods of time and could 

use and evaluate man's utility only in very fundamental terms. 

While limited in scope, the experiment selection will contribute to the solution and evaluation of defense problems, provide 

a nucleus of trained and experienced Air Force personnel in manned 

spacecraft activities, and minimize duplication of activities within 

the national space program. The experience to be gained through 

these Gemini experiments is directly applicable to MOL experiments 

and future military missions. 

3. (U) Similarly the same basic mission objectives were considered 

in defining a MOL experiments program with emphasis on establishing 

a qualitative and quantitative measure of man's usefulness in space 

for performing these military tasks. A4 you know, MOL was conceived 

to serve as a test bed for experiments, and as such, has ample ability 

to support a total task without concern for program or physical constraints. The experiments selected are those which cannot be achieved 

in any other way and which will make maximum use of ground tests, 

simulation, aircraft tests and existing space programs such as Gemini 

for testing wherever possible. These experiments are divided into two 

areas: (1) Primary - which assesses man's utility and his physiological and psychological well-being, and (2) Secondary - to advance 

technology and acquire scientific data of national importance. As you 

will see, many of these MOL experiments are planned extensions of the 

Gemini Program. 

4. (U) In the near future, we expect to complete the initial 

definition of MOL experiments. At that time, as a part of the status 

report to DOD, we will include a discussion of the current DOD Gemini 

experiments and those recommended for test on MIX. Attachment 1 provides a preliminary comparison of the Gemini and MOL experiments and 

shows that while they appear outwardly similar there is a significant 

difference in the approach, the equipments, and the quality and quantity of data to be acquired on man's utility. 

5. (U) In summary, we believe that this early and fundamental data 

to be derived from the Gemini Program will contribute limited, but 

valuable data to MOL, as well as future military missions regarding 

man's utility. Through a program such as that defined for M)L, we 

will be able to accumulate the qualitative and quantitative measurements of man's utility in space for performing military tasks. 

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6. (U) Should additional information be desired, please contact 

this office. 

• CQ. • • .1/4-0,1.4..a. " 1.1.Ct‘c..\ 

WILLIAM D. BRADY 

—, 

Colonel, USAF 

System Program Director for MDL 

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Rpt, "Comparison or Gemini/ 

MOL Experiments (8) 

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'COMPARISON OF GEMINI/MIOL EXPERIMENTS 

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INTRODUCTION 

A preliminary prerequisite comparison of Gemini versus MOL 

experiments is made in this attachment. To avoid repetition of 

many long titles in the text of this comparison, only experiment 

numbers are used. In order to clearly identify the experiment 

being discussed the number, title and a very brief description of 

both the Gemini and MOL experiments is given. 

NASA/DOD GEMINI EXPERIMENT SYNOPSIS 

D-3 Mass Determination 

To investigate techniques of determining mass of an orbiting object. 

D-4 Radiometric Background Measurements 

Spectral analysis of earth and space backgrounds and particular 

objects in space. 

D-5 Star Occultation Measurements for Spacecraft Navigation 

To investigate feasibility and operational worth of star occultation 

measurements for spacecraft navigation. 

D-6 Photographic Definition of Terrestrial Features 

To gain further insight into the problems of acquiring, tracking, 

observing and photographing from a manned spacecraft. 

D-7 Radiometric Measurement of Objects in Space 

Spectral analysis of earth and space backgrounds 

D-8 Radiation 

To determine spatial distribution of radiation dose-rate in 

spacecraft and to augment NASA's radiation measurements. 

D-9 Manual Measurement Techniques for Spacecraft Navigation 

To explore visual sighting techniques for development of an , 

autonomous manual navigation system. 

D-10 Spacecraft attitude Determination for Navigation Purposes 

To investigate determination of spacecraft attitude in yaw and 

pitch from measurement of ion flow variations. 

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D-11 Astronaut Extravehicular Chest Unit 

Operational test of extravehicular life support system to be 

used with MAMU (D-12). 

D-12 Modular Astronaut Maneuvering Unit 

To demonstrate feasibility of man to maneuver and perform useful 

functions in free space. 

D-13 Astronaut Visibility 

To determine man's capability to see objects on the surface of 

the earth from an earth-orbiting vehicle. 

D-14 UHF, VHF Polarization Measurements 

To develop data applicable to communication and control systems 

operating through the ionosphere. 

D-15 Low Light Level Television 

Operational test of low light level TV system to aid man in 

night observation of sea and terrestrial features. 

D-16 Minimum Reaction Power Tool Evaluation 

To determine man's ability to perform maintenance in free space. 

MANNED ORBITING LABORATORY (MOL1 EXPERIMENT SYNOPSIS 

P-1 Acquisition and Tracking of Ground Targets 

Measures man's ability to acquire and track pre-assigned ground 

targets under varying conditions. 

P-3 Direct Viewing for Ground Targets 

Measures man's ability to detect surface targets of opportunity 

and to make cursory intelligence assessments. 

P-4 Electromagnetic Signal Detection 

Measures man's ability to make semi-analytical decisions and 

adjustments based on information from electromagnetic emitters. 

P-5 In-Space Maintenance 

Measures the crew member's ability to perform in-space maintenance as applied to present and future manned space missions. 

P-6 Extravehicular Activity 

Determines what functions man can perform outside the spacecraft 

and what tools he will require for these functions. 

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P-7 Remote Maneuvering Unit 

Measures crew member's ability to control a maneuvering unit 

by remote control. 

P-8 Autonomous Navigation and Geodesy 

Measures man's ability to navigate in space and to perform 

geodetic survey of uncooperative targets. 

P-10 Multiband Spectral Observations 

Determines the crew member's ability to operate radiometric and 

related equipment in the completion of military and scientific 

activities. 

P-11 General Human Performance in Space 

Measures the day-to-day general performance capabilities of the 

crew members. 

P-12 Biomedical and Physiological Evaluation 

Measures the physiological and biomedical factors of the crew 

members under conditions of long-term orbit and weightlessness. 

P-13 Ocean Surveillance 

Evaluates the capability of man to control, coordinate, and 

use a system consisting of various sensors and subsystems to detect, 

track, classify, and catalog sea targets. 
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COMPARISON OF GEMINI/MOL EXPERIMENTS 

GEMINI/DOD (USAF) EXPERIMENTS D-1, D-2 and D-6 

Currently, human performance is in this case shown to be competitive with the state-of-the-art 

in vehicle servo control system design. Experiients, P-2, P-3 and D-1, 

D-3 can be similarly compared to show that the JCL experiments can 

qualitatively exceed those of Gemini by two magnitudes. 

While an accurate quantitative comparison /is not possible a rough 

estimate is provided. Let us assume that the average Gemini mission 

duration is seven days, that only one (1) astronaut can operate the 

equipment and that he has two hours per day available to conduct the 

experiment and that only two missions are possible per experiment. For 

MDL the equipments would be available on six (6) missions spread over 

the four natural seasons, the mission duration is 30 days, two (2) 

space crewmen can operate the equipment, and that each has two hours 

per day available to conduct the experiment. 

GEMINI MOL 

7 Days 

1 Astronaut 

7 

2 Hours/Day 

IV-Hours 

2 Missions 

07-Hours of Data 

A 30 Days 

2 Space Crewmen 

60 

2 Hours/Day 

120 Hours 

6 Missions 

720 Hours of Data 

720 28 - --26X as much data as can be acquired in MDL 

compared to Gemini 

Gemini must bring back photos for analysis while MM. can analyze 

them in space within minutes after exposure. 

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RELEASE 1 JULY 2015 IERETGEMINI/DOD (USAF) EXPERIMENT D-3 

This experiment is intended to evaluate a procedure for mass 

determination which involves the transfer of energy and the resultant 

measurement of the affect. A candidate secondary experiment contained 

in MOL would further study the energy transfer technique, but using 

pellets or nets instead of vehicle propulsion and physical contact. 

GEMINI/NASA (USAF) EXPERIMENTS D-4 and D-7 

The Gemini Experiments D-4 and D-7 come very close to meeting the 

primary objective of MOL Experiment P-10, in that both of them have 

as their objective the assessment of man's ability and utility in 

military space tasks and will provide significant radiometric data 

which will have military and scientific value. Table A is included 

to show the comparative factors of the equipments associated with 

these experiments. A review of these factors shows that the P-10 

equipments are able to provide considerably more qualitative data than 

that which can be obtained with the Gemini equipments. The prime difference to be noted is that Gemini collects radiometric data while JCL 

additionally collects extensive data on man's functions. 

Quantitatively the P-10 data will be collected over approximately 

a 2400-minute period as compared with Gemini which would be limited to 

about 208 minutes; thus, the quantity of data available from the 

Gemini Program will be one-tenth that derived from MM. 

GEMINI/DOD (USAF) EXPERIMENTS D-5 and D-9 

MOL Experiment P-8 is similar in name only to D-5 and D-9. Again 

due to the limited space in Gemini, D-5 and D-9 do not have the 

intrinsic accuracy associated with P-8. They will probably provide 

position accuracies of about 50 n mi which would be useful for emergency 

deorbit, but little else. Contrast this with P-8 where positional 

accuracies equal to our best ground tracking system can be achieved in 

a manner of a few orbits and updated at will. By using P-8 in combination with other experiment equipments, it is possible to determine the 

MOL vehicle position to within a few hundred feet. Even more important 

from a military mission standpoint the P-8 equipments should be able 

to determine geocentric coordinates of targets such as ballistic missile 

sites to ‘dthin6001of the absolute location on earth. 

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GEMINI/DOD (USAF) EXPERIMENT D-8 

The two Gemini flights which are expected to reach altitudes 

above 160 n al will carry Experiment D-8 to measure charged particle 

radiation rates. Total flight time is limited to about six days, 

and because of weight limitations, only seven sensors are included. 

All MOL flights, as a part of Experiment P-12, will include many 

sensors to make more complete surveys inside and outside of the spacecraft with total exposure times of 120 days. The MDL Experiment P-12 

is thus a much more thorough extension to the Gemini D-8 concentrating 

on radiation in the 140 to 160 n mi altitude range. 

GEMINI/DOD (USAF) EXPERIMENTS D-11 and D-12 

The Astronaut Extravehicular Chest Unit and the Modular Astronaut 

Maneuvering Unit are used together to perform the D-12 experiment. 

Experiment D-11 is a NASA hardware item modified to add displays and 

controls for the D-12 experiment. The MDL P-6 experiment is an 

extension of and supplementary to Gemini D-12, using more sophisticated life support and maneuvering systems combined with more 

complicated astronaut maneuvers and tasks. 

GEMINI/DOD (USAF) EXPERIMENT D-10 

We consider Experiment D-10 to be a sufficient test of the 

technology associated with the ion sensor phenomena and do not plan 

to extend the study to tests in MDL. 

GEMINI/DOD (USN) EXPERIMENT D-13 

No additional MOL experimenting is planned in this area, but 

data from MOL Experiments P-1, P-2 and P-3 will be used to supplement 

data obtained in Gemini Experiment D-13. 

GEMINI/DOD (USN) EXPERIMENT D-14 

No MOL experiments are planned in this area. 

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GEMINI/DOD (USN) EXPERIMENT D-15 

Currently two methods of low light level target sensing techniques 

are under consideration. The P-10 experiment study has considered 

and can accommodate the inclusion of the TV system as a part of the 

optics design. Another competitive concept of image intensification 

using optics could be made a part of P-1. If the TV system were finally 

selected, then it would be an improved version of the Gemini equipments 

with similar test objectives as those in Gemini. 

GEMINI/DOD (USAF) EXPERIMENT D-16 

This experiment will evaluate the astronaut's ability to perform 

extravehicular operations of a minimum reaction power tool. While 

MDL does not have any plans to extend tests of this specific tool, 

it is considering numerous similar type activities that might be 

associated with in-space maintenance; the specifics of which are at 

this time undefined. 

SSMM-32 
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EQUIPMENT