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1 Atch 

a/s 

AMES FERGUSON 

eneral, USAF 

Director, MOL Program 

JAR 19E4 

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE 

SUBJECT: Manned Orbiting Laboratory Monthly Status Report 

The attached Status Report on the Manned Orbiting Laboratory 

(MOL) Program covers activities through December 31, 1967 and is 

submitted in accordance with the December 18, 1967 memorandum from 

the Office of the Secretary. 

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I. PROBLEM 

Schedule and Funds 

During the period November 30 to December 6, the major MOL 

Associate Contractors met at Huntington Beach, California, to examine 

the Program, with minimum Air Force participation, with the objective 

of devising and proposing to the government a development plan which 

balances MOL schedules and Program scope against anticipated Fiscal 

Year funding constraints. 

On December 7 and 8, the results of this exercise were presented 

to Air Force management. The contractors recommended certain relatively 

minor changes and deletions in program content, and a schedule keyed 

to a first manned launch in August of 1971. This program, which 

has the unreserved endorsement of all the major Associates, assumes 

Fiscal Year 1969 funding of $640 million. 

On December 8, the MOL Program Review Council, chaired by 

Dr. Flax, reviewed and approved, with minor exceptions, the contractors' proposal. Thus, as of December 8, government and industry 

has agreed, without reservation, on a plan which is technically and 

financially sound. The Program, as now conceived, will assure 

accomplishment of program objectives; provide logical and integrated 

program schedules; provide for continuous, and measurable, program 

progress; and assure correlation between schedules and known fiscal 

constraints. 

On December 9, a memorandum from the Secretary of Defense 

inquired as to the feasibility of a plan for completing MOL, at least 

in the first phase, without a man, estimating that such a program 

could be financed in FY 69 for $400 million. Various options were 

studied and transmitted to Mr. McNamara in a December 15 memorandum 

from the Secretary of the Air Force who recommended the program be 

funded at not less than $600 million in FY 69. An alternative 

recommendation was a $520 million level in FY 69 with an attendent 

schedule slip and cost increase provided there was confidence in 

funding at the $600 million level in FY 70 and 71; otherwise it 

was recommended the MOL Program be terminated and an unmanned system_ 

development initiated. 

As of December 31, the recommended DoD funding for MOL in FY 69 

was $600 million. No additional schedule slip is contemplated, as 

it is believed the difference between $600 and the $640 million 

mentioned above is manageable. 

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II. CHANGE PAST MONTH 

A. December Program Adjustment 

The following tables summarize the significant schedule/ 

funding adjustments agreed upon at the December 8 MOL Program Review 

Council meeting: 

Schedule 

Flight Nr Was Is 

1 April 1970(1) November 1970 

2 June 1970 April 1971(1) 

3 December 1970(2) August 1971(2) 

4 April 1971 January 1972 

5 August 1971 May 1972 

6 November 1971(3) September 1972(3) 

7 February 1972 January 1973 

(1) Gemini B qualification/booster qualification/structure test 

(2) First manned flight 

(3) First unmanned automatic flight 

Funding Requirements 

FY 69 FY 70 FY 71 FY 72 FY 73 

Prior Planning Basis $680M $541M $267M $ 94M $ 28M 

Dec 8 Planning Basis $640m $590m $451m $299M $105M•° 

B. Death of Major R. H. Lawrence 

Major Robert H. Lawrence, one of the MOL Aerospace Research 

Pilots, was killed in an aircraft accident at Edwards Air Force Base 

on December 8. The death of Major Lawrence reduces the MOL crew 

roster to fifteen; eleven Air Force, three Navy and one Marine. 

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C. DORIAN Audit Plan 

In mid-1967, the Air Force and the Government Accounting 

Office jointly recognized that normal GAO audit activities in 

connection with MOL could create serious security complications. 

Mr. William Newman, Director of the Defense Division, GAO, agreed in 

principle at that time to a procedure in which the information needs 

of the GAO would be supplied by the Defense Contract Audit Agency, NRO 

Audit Group. Mr. Harold Rubin of the Defense Division, GAO, was 

designated to represent GAO interests in this procedure, and was 

briefed DORIAN for this purpose. 

On December 8, Air Force representatives met with Mr. Rubin 

and Mr. William Petty, Director, DCAA, to review a formal audit plan 

prepared by the MOL Program Office. This plan was tentatively approved 

by all parties, and will be implemented in the near future. Mr. Rubin 

noted that the approved procedures provide only for audit of contractor 

activities, and do not contemplate review of Air Force management. 

The implications of Mr. Rubin's observation are not yet clear. 

D. C/SPCS Briefing for SAFFM 

On December 11, Secretary Marks was briefed on the results 

of the recent Air Force validation/demonstration of the Douglas Cost/ 

Schedule Planning and Control System. The validation team concluded 

that the Douglas system is basically sound, with certain exceptions, 

and therefore granted a qualified acceptance. 

Secretary Marks accepted the team's recommendation not to 

replace the C/SPCS specification presently on contract with the 

standard specification prescribed in Annex 4, AFSC Manual 70-5. This 

recommendation was predicated on the release during December of a 

DoD Instruction that will supersede and require revision to the 

AFSC specification. Publication of the report of the evaluation team 

is scheduled for early January. 

III. CURRENT STATUS 

A. Funds 

During December, $10,000,000 retained by the Director, MOL 

was issued to the Systems Office to fund contracts through early 

January. With this release, all of the $250 million (FY 68) previously 

released by OSD to MOL has been issued to the field. A memorandum 

has been prepared requesting DDR&E release of all remaining FY 1968 

MOL funds, in the amount of $180,000,000. Upon receipt of these funds, 

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$100,000,000 will be released to cover 3rd quarter requirements 

and $80,000,000 will be retained by the Director, MOL until late 

March, when it will be released to fund 4th quarter requirements. 

B. Congressional 

Messrs Craig Vorhees and William Parker, staff members of 

the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, visited the 

Douglas Facility at Huntington Beach on December 11. Their interest 

was primarily in NASA work there; however, they requested and were 

given a MOL briefing at the SECRET - SPECIAL ACCESS REQUIRED security 

level. 

C. Industrial Facilities at Eastman Kodak 

Original Air Force estimates, developed during the spring 

and summer of 1966, recognized two types of industrial facilities to 

be acquired at Eastman Kodak for support of the DORIAN program. In 

the category of Special Purpose Buildings, the government recognized 

a requirement for $13.014 million in construction and related costs. 

A separate requirement for approximately $15.0 million was recognized 

for what has been categorized as Special Industrial Requirements (SIR), 

which include test chambers, test towers, and related support and test 

equipment. 

As a result of improved definition of test requirements at 

Eastman, and recent decisions regarding acoustic testing of the mission 

payload, the estimated cost of the industrial facilities package at 

Eastman has increased substantially. The projected cost of the Special 

Purpose Buildings now under construction has risen by approximately 

$586,000 to $13.6 million. The estimated acquisition cost of SIR items 

has approximately doubled, to about $30 million, principally as a 

result of newly-defined requirements for payload testing, including 

acoustic testing. The actions required to secure and/or issue the 

necessary approvals for acquisition of the augmented Eastman facilities 

package are in progress. 

IV. FORECAST FOR FUTURE 

On January 10, Air Force and Contractor MOL management will meet 

in Los Angeles to review jointly the status of the program adjustments 

identified on December 8, and to reorient the development slightly to 

a fiscal planning basis which now envisions: 

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FY 69 FY 70 FY 71 FY 72 FY 73 

755,1 TgloR $48514 T3 75R $83 M 

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The final product of this meeting is expected to be a reaffirmation 

from all parties that (1) program content is clearly and commonly 

understood, and (2) the work can be performed within projected 

dollar constraints and on existing schedules. 

V. DUE DATE FOR NEXT PROGRESS REPORT 

The next monthly MOL Program Progress Report will be submitted 

February 9, 1968. 

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