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DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE 

MANNED ORBITING LABORATORY, SYSTEMS OFFICE (OSAFI 

AF UNIT POST OFFICE, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90045 

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MEMORANDUM FOR GEN STEWART 1 FEB 1969 

SUBJECT: MOL Monthly Management Report 

Attached is the MOL Monthly Management Report for the period 

26 December 1968 - 25 January 1969. 

1 Atch . S. EL IER 

Report Major General, USAF 

Deputy Director, MOL 

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MOL Monthly Management Report 

26 December 1968 - 25 January 1969 

I. Program Management 

A. Upgrade Activity - Negotiations with General Electric Corporation 

were adjourned on 17 January to allow the GE team sufficient time to study 

the latest Air Force offer. Negotiations are scheduled to resume on 

Tuesday, 4 February, and agreement is anticipated shortly thereafter. A 

major portion of the McDonnell Douglas-Eastern Division (MDAC-ED) proposal 

has been received, and a fact-finding team from the Systems Office has 

begun evaluation of the proposal. The remainder of the MDAC-ED proposal 

will be delivered to the Systems Office over the course of the next two 

months. The Western Division of McDonnell Douglas (MDAC-WD) is still 

expected to deliver its proposal by 18 February. Systems Office personnel 

anticipate issuance of unpriced supplemental agreements to the Martin 

Marietta Corporation and AC Electronics contracts by 14 February. Systems 

Office review of the Aerojet General proposal is proceeding on schedule, 

and completion of this review is still expected by 7 February. The 

delivery date of the United Technology Center proposal was slipped to 

31 January by mutual agreement of the Systems Office and the Contractor. 

Delivery of the Eastman Kodak Corporation's proposal remains scheduled for 

20 June. 

B. Labor Dispute at McDonnell Douglas - The International Association 

of Machinists (IAM) went on strike against the Eastern Division of McDonnell 

Douglas (MDAC-ED) on 13 January 1969. Conductron, Inc., which is the subcontractor for production of the Gemini B Procedures Simulator, is also 

affected by the strike. McDonnell Douglas began negotiations with the union 

on 15 January under the guidance of federal mediators, and these negotiations 

are continuing. The contractor's assessment of the strike is that it will be 

of short duration and will have little impact on the MOL Program. The Systems 

Office has requested daily status reports from the contractor and will 

continue to monitor potential impacts. 

C. Apollo Astronaut's Visit - Members of the MOL flight crew escorted 

Mr. Walt Cunningham, NASA Astronaut, on a tour of the MOL Laboratory Vehicle 

mockup on 9 January. The tour was followed by a meeting at the Systems Office 

during which Mr. Cunningham answered prepared questions concerning various 

aspects of manned space flight. The results of both of these activities are 

considered excellent, and the Systems Office is presently evaluating 

Mr. Cunningham's comments to determine necessary follow-on action. 

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D. MOL Independent Safety Review Board - A charter for the MOL 

Independent Safety Review Board has been prepared and distributed to 

the Board members. Colonel A. G. Swan of the Air Force Weapons Laboratory 

has been selected to chair the Board. Col Swan visited the Systems Office 

on 15 January and was briefed on the previous activities of the MOL Systems 

Office's Gemini B Dual Gas System Test Review Committee. The briefing 

emphasized agreements which have been made with McDonnell Douglas-Eastern 

Division concerning changes in procedures and equipment, particularly in 

the areas of fire detection and materials control. 

E. Cost Schedule Planning and Control System (CSPCS) - Systems Office 

personnel assisted Lt Col Driessnack and Lt Col McManamon, both of Hq AFSC, 

in an evaluation of McDonnell Douglas-Western Division's proposed solution 

of the CSPCS compliance deficiencies which were noted in a previous 

Performance Measurement Demonstration Report. McDonnell Douglas' approach 

to the solution of these deficiencies was found to be acceptable. A formal 

audit of compliance will be made in these areas during a redemonstration 

survey which will be conducted within the next three months. 

F. Mission Simulator Conference - A conference on the operation of the 

MOL Mission Simulator at Vandenberg AFB was held on 8-9 January with the 

contractors involved, the Systems Office and 6595th Aerospace Test Wing (ATW) 

represented. The contractors presented briefings on their proposed support 

for our simulator facility. Discussions were also held on simulator operations 

and the support that will be required from the 6595th ATW. A follow-on meeting 

will be held in approximately three months. 

G. Vandenberg AFB Construction Status - On 25 January, construction of 

Package 2 of the launch complex facilities was 83.3% complete. The Mobile 

Service Tower, which paces the completion of this package, is now 52.5% 

complete and continues to be scheduled for completion on 1 April 1969. The 

power plant, which is the only item in Packages 3 & 4 that remains uncompleted, 

is now scheduled for completion on 15 February. Package 1 of the MOL Support 

Facilities at VAFB is approximately 60% complete. Package 2 of the Support 

Facilities was advertised on 17 January by the Los Angeles District Office 

of the Corps of Engineers. Bids on this work are to be opened on 13 February. 

H. Funds and Manpower Status - Of the $454.5M FY69 funds released to the 

Systems Office, $435.6M has been initiated. 

Systems Office manpower status is as follows: 

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Authorized* Assigned* 

Officers 184 152 

Airmen 12 10 

Civilians 106 94 

High Grades (33) (32) 

Clerical (73) (62) 

TOTAL 302 256 

*Includes Houston Field Office 

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II. Technical Status 

A. MOL Alignment Requirements - Evaluation of the two proposed 

methods for fulfilling MOL alignment requirements continued throughout 

the month, and analysis of a third alternative was initiated. The 

General Electric and Systems Office analyses differ, particularly in 

the area of pointing accuracy, but both parties agree that the new 

flight alignment link should monitor between the star tracker base 

and the tracking mirror. The Systems Office will select one of the 

proposed methods upon completion of the study of each method's predicted 

accuracy. 

B. Mission Planning and Evaluation Software Design - The Air 

Weather Service (AWS) has completed an evaluation of the possible modes 

for transmission of meteorological data to the DORIAN Mission Planning 

and Evaluation (MP&E) software. The results of the AWS study indicate 

that an AF Global Weather Central (AFGWC) transmission of cloud-free 

probabilities for individual targets would provide the best input for 

the MP&E software in terms of accuracy, resolution, timelines and format. 

The Systems Office has directed TRW to design the MP&E software to 

accept AFGWC transmissions of this type. 

C. Advanced Data System Configuration - The Systems Office, in 

concert with the Satellite Control Facility, is proceeding with the 

redefinition of the Advanced Data System although official approval 

and funding for this action have not yet been received. This action 

has been taken on the assumption that approval is forthcoming and with 

the knowledge that serious impact could result from further delays in 

finalizing the definition of this system. 

D. AVE Computer Timing - A recent recomputation of the worst 

case timing estimates for functions performed by the Aerospace Vehicle 

Equipment (AVE) Computer indicates that demands on the computer could 

exceed its 100-millisecond basic timing cycle. Several methods of 

remedying this situation are being considered by a team composed of 

personnel from General Electric, McDonnell Douglas-Western Division, 

International Business Machines and the Systems Office. A recommended 

solution is expected from this team in mid-February. 

E. Slide Viewing Subsystem - The first unit of the Slide Viewing 

Subsystem (SVS) for the Mission Development Simulator arrived at the 

General Electric facility following completion of the factory acceptance 

test at Itek Corporation. Itek personnel will retrofit the SVS at 

General Electric to correct several deficiencies which were noted during 

the acceptance test. 

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F. Environmental Monitoring Unit CDR - The Critical Design Review 

(CDR) of the Environmental Monitor Unit (EMU) was held in early January 

as the last increment of the Mission Module Transporter CDR. The CDR 

was satisfactorily completed except for a lack of adequate data concerning 

integration of the EMU with the Mission Module (MM) and the MM Transporter. 

A special review has been scheduled for discussion of this subject with 

General Electric personnel. 

G. Mission Module Transporter Loading Exercise - The Mission Module 

Transporter (MMT) was loaded on a C-13311 aircraft at Willow Grove Air 

Station, Pennsylvania, on 14-15 January. The exercise took nearly 15 hours 

because of the difficulty encountered in loading the MMT under the close 

tolerances involved (2" to 3" clearance on either side). Although lengthy, 

the exercise demonstrated that the MMT can be loaded on the C-133B. The 

Military Airlift Command was extremely cooperative in providing the aircraft 

and loading crew for this exercise. 

H. MOL Feeding System Review - During the week of 27-31 January, 

the Systems Office will conduct an in-depth review of the MOL Feeding 

System Assembly. The review will include evaluation of current MOL food 

over a four-day period by four MOL crew members and a presentation of the 

current plan for food packaging redefinition. Participants will include 

personnel from the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, Natick Laboratories, 

and NASA in addition to the Systems Office participants. 

I. Radiation Briefings - Briefings on bioastronautics were presented 

by the Systems Office on 22-23 January to MOL consultants on radiation and 

the chiefs of several Air Force technical support organizations that are 

associated with the MOL radiation protection program. A NASA representative 

also attended. The briefings included a detailed review of MOL radiation 

instrumentation and protection procedures and outlined the need for definitive 

radiobiological studies to facilitate the prediction of man's physiological 

response to radiation during space flights. Following the formal presentations, discussion and workshop sessions were conducted to review past 

efforts relative to the radiobiological aspects of manned space flight and 

to determine specific efforts that should be made in this area by both the 

MOL and NASA programs. 

J. Matrix Fuel Cell - The Systems Office has continued to .coordinate 

with personnel of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center concerning the MOL 

matrix fuel cell which is being produced by Allis-Chalmers Corporation. 

In mid-January, Systems Office representatives met with their NASA counterparts to discuss commonality of the MOL and Apollo Applications Program 

fuel cell systems and areas where minor changes to program requirements 

could achieve mutual benefits and cost savings. Additional meetings of 

this type are planned. 

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K. Loads Cycle 4 Activity - The basic Load Cycle 4 effort has 

been completed, and the Systems Office and Martin Marietta Corporation 

are compiling data to establish the requirements for thrust termination 

conditions. This data will be transmitted to the associate contractors 

by 7 February for use in structural evaluation. 

L. Umbilical Retraction System - The Systems Office has approved 

the drop-weight umbilical retraction system which was proposed by 

McDonnell Douglas-Western Division. This system will replace the 

retraction motor concept which was proposed during the Preliminary Design 

Review of the umbilical retraction system. Advantages of the drop-weight 

system are the avoidance of additional costs, a less complex and more 

reliable system, and elimination of possible interference between the 

plug carrier and the launch vehicle. 

M. Backup Planning for Flight Vehicle 2 - The Systems Office has 

initiated a study of requirements for providing a backup capability for 

Flight Vehicle 2. The flight vehicle associate contractors have been 

authorized to conduct a small study to identify facility constraints, 

funding constraints, hardware availability, and requirements for longlead time purchases. The Systems Office will integrate the contractors' 

reports and publish a FV 2 Backup Plan. 

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