SPECIAL HANDLING 

1.3 FEB 1961 

MEMORANDUM FOR GENERAL MARTIN 

SUBJECT: Comments Related to the Benefits of the Presence of Man 

1. The following paragraph pertaining to the benefits provided by the 

presence of man to the effective accomplishment of the reconnaissance 

mission of the MOL Program was contained in a directive from Dr. Flax 

entitled "Policy Relating to MOL Astronauts", dated 28 Dec 66. 

"The nature of the primary mission of the Department 

of Defense MOL Program, which is the acquisition of 

high resolution reconnaissance photography, is such, 

that the on-board presence of man, as an integral part 

of the intelligence collection system, is intended to 

provide benefits to the effective accomplishment of this 

mission not technically possible through the use of an 

unmanned satellite. Initial studies suggest that the 

inclusion of man will enhance such benefits with respect 

to providing: (1) a manual backup for complex automated 

functions especially in the development phase; (2) manual 

repair or adjustment of sensor elements, controls and 

displays during on-orbit operations; (3) a greater percentage 

of cloud-free photography; (4) a possible quick reaction 

intelligence readout capability; and (5) target selectivity. " 

2. One cannot disagree with the opening statement of the above paragraph 

because it is only a pronouncement of the intended role of man in the 

MOL mission of high resolution reconnaissance photography. That is, 

the man in the "loop" is intended to provide benefits to the effective 

accomplishment of this mission (high resolution photography) not 

technically possible through the use of an unmanned satellite. Following 

are comments on each of the five examples given as areas of mission 

enhancement provided by the man. 

a. "a manual backup for complex automated functions especially 

in the development phase": It is correct to state that the man provides a 

manual backup to the automated reconnaissance functions. That is, in 

the early days of the program he was the only source of optical alignment, 

target acquisition and centering and target tracking. In the current 

baseline these functions are done automatically by an alignment sensor, 

by programmed aiming made possible by a more precise navigation and 

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control system plus across the format IMC, and by a tracking (V/R) 

sensor. However, the man can still take over and manually perform 

these functions in the event of failures. Of course, this is not to say 

that one could not build in considerable or complete redundancy for 

these functions in an unmanned approach. One can argue that in the 

development phase the availability of manual backup provides more data 

from early flights thereby speeding system maturity. 

b. "manual repair or adjustment of the sensor": Obviously the 

man on board has a much shorter screwdriver than the engineers in the 

SCF and we are making every attempt to exploit this repair and maintenance 

benefit in the areas that it appears feasible and within the system weight 

constraints. Actual repair of the sensor will be minimal. However, there 

will certainly be meaningful trouble shooting and health checks which can 

be performed and limited black box replacement possible in the laboratory. 

c. "a greater percentage of cloudfree photography": All 

targeting studies have shown an improvement in percentage of cloud free 

photography when the man is used as a weather sensor working essentially 

the manual mode. This improvement seems to be about 20%.In the active 

target indicator mode the main optics is programmed completely automatically and all weather sensing, if any, must be done by the V/R sensor. 

o 

In this mode the basic take/of a man and unmanned system would be the 

same, disregarding the active target improvement factor in the manned 

case. 

d. "a possible quick reaction intelligence readout capability": 

In the present baseline the manner of incorporation o f readout has been 

based on the presence of man because he is there. It is certainly within 

the technology to completely automate a readout capability if quick reaction 

is a requirement. 

e. "target selectivity": In the active target indicator mode the 

MOL/Dorian system actually has the capability to access three targets 

simultaneously. That is, as one target is being photographed at 

resolution by the main optics the two astronauts are each visually examining 

a target at 3' to 10' resolution with the acquisition scopes (Big Eye). Based 

on this examination the astronaut may elect to interdict the program of the 

main optics and acquire photo coverage of a more active target. 

YRON F. KNOLLE, JR, Col, USAF 

Deputy Director,