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i. 

I. PROBLEM 

An additional $3.5 million is required to complete the SLC-6 

launch complex construction program. The first increment of $1.5 million 

was transferred to the field, March 31, 1969. The increased construction 

cost and slippage of the completion date from April 1 to September 1, 

1969 has been confirmed by an Ad Hoc Committee composed of members from 

Hq AFSC, AFOCE and Army Corps of Engineers. In addition to the initial 

investigation conducted by the Ad Hoc Committee, a follow-up review 

is to be made in mid April 1969, to assure that planned actions are 

being implemented to keep costs to a minimum and to meet the September 1 

completion date. 

II. CHANGE PAST MONTH 

A. Reduction of MOL Program 

Since early 1966, the MOL Program has included seven launches: 

two unmanned booster/Gemini/structure qualification launches; three all-up 

manned 30-day reconnaissance missions; and two all-up unmanned 30-56 day 

reconnaissance missions. Because of camera complexity and the difficulty 

of operating it in an unmanned mode, the manned missions were planned 

first to assure reaching the photographic resolution goal and to obtain 

a useful intelligence product at the outset. The unmanned missions were 

included in the program as "insurance" against possible serious international objections or foreign threats to manned overflight, and also the 

expectation that recurring costs of unmanned systems would be substantially 

less than manned configurations. 

A comprehensive MOL review conducted by the new administration 

concluded that it was not necessary to fly the MOL unmanned to demonstrate 

automatic operation of the camera system; that if extended unmanned future 

operations were desired, the unmanned MOL vehicle (as a minimum modification 

of the manned vehicle) was not an optimized system; and that the three 

manned flights alone should generally meet all MOL Program objectives. 

Therefore, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Air 

Force and the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, further work 

toward the unmanned MOL configuration was deferred until at least FY 72. 

However, because of fabrication lead time considerations, a fourth manned 

reconnaissance mission was added to protect,until the FY 72 Budget, the 

option of a continuing very high resolution reconnaissance program in the 

1970's if that should prove desirable. 

The overall effects of these decisions are to: 

1. Reduce the estimated total development cost approximately 

$200 million. 

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2. Reduce the FY 70 NOA requirement from $576 to 

$556 million. 

3. Provide an adequate period between now and the FY 72 

Budget Estimate for systematic and comprehensive studies of optimized 

and lower cost unmanned systems using the MOL camera, manned and unmanned operational reconnaissance considerations, and other possible 

MOL applications and configurations. 

In late March 1969, a further reduction in FY 1970 NOA to $525 

million was effected. This will cause a further delay in the flight 

schedule to as late as mid CY 1972 and increase in total program costs 

to $2.93 billion. 

B. Funds 

Funds in the amount of $59.0 million were released during March. 

After this latest release, $514 million of the FY 1969 NOA of $515 million 

has been made available to support MOL operations. The remaining $1.0 

million will be retained by the Director, MOL until late April or early 

May when it will be used to make a year end adjustment between black and 

white funds, if necessary. Contractor expenditures against FY 1969 funds 

totalled approximately $296.9 million through February 1969. 

III. CURRENT STATUS 

A. Congressional Activity 

In response to a request from Mr. Morgan, House Armed Services 

Committee Staff Member, General Stewart gave Representative D. G. Hall 

(R-Missouri) a comprehensive program briefing. Dr. Hall indicated his 

support for MOL, but expressed fear that the program might be judged 

unfavorably by those Congressmen who are not completely informed on it. 

Chairman Anderson and Senator Smith, Senate Aeronautical and 

Space Sciences Committee, and two Staff Members, Messrs Gehrig and Parker, 

were given a briefing by General Stewart in response to their request 

for an up-date on the program. Chairman Anderson did not like the inclusion of unmanned configurations in the program. Mr. Gehrig stated 

that NASA and contractors had been pushing for development of a resupply 

vehicle and citing military requirements as a justification. 

Representative J. G. Fulton (R-Pennsylvania), House Science and 

Astronautics Committee, sharply questioned Dr. Mueller, during hearings 

on the NASA budget, about MOL and AAP duplication. He also sent five 

questions to the Air Force regarding duplication and suspected MOL 

violation of the U. N. Space Treaty. Written responses were provided by 

this office. 

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An up-dating program briefing was also given to Chairman Miller, 

House Science and Astronautics Committee and Staff Member, Mr. Gerardi. 

Colonel John M. Dunn and Lt Commander Leslie N. Palmer, Military 

Assistants to the Vice President, requested and were given in-depth 

program briefings by General Stewart. Colonel Dunn said that he and 

Commander Palmer had been assigned the task of monitoring military space 

programs for the Vice President. 

B. Recovery Operations for MOL 

The DoD Manager for Manned Space Flight Operations (DDMS) was 

appointed by the Secretary of Defense to act as a single point of contact 

to provide DoD resources in support of the requirements of manned space 

program managers. On March 21, members of the DDMS and MOL Program staffs 

drafted a Memorandum of Understanding for approval by the Director, MOL 

and the DoD Manager. This agreement delineates the support provided by 

the DDMS in effecting recovery operations for the MOL-Program. 

C. Safety Meeting at NASA 

On March 26, personnel from the MOL Program attended a meeting 

at Hq NASA to participate in the formulation of a steering committee for 

a Space Vehicle Fire Research Program. This committee will establish 

priorities for requirements for fire detection and suppression systems 

and direct the furtherance of the necessary research. We will appoint a 

representative to the steering committee to assist in the research program 

and insure that the MOL Program maintains a constant awareness of developments. 

D. Advanced Data System 

In a March 4, 1969 memorandum the Assistant Secretary of the Air 

Force (FM) requested from DoD a waiver of competitive selection procedures 

to permit acquisition of two CDC 6600 computer systems for the Satellite 

Test Center (STC) at Sunnyvale, California in support of MOL. The 

Assistant Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) granted a waiver to lease, 

on an interim basis, one CDC 6600 computer to preclude costly delays in 

the MOL Program. In an accompanying memorandum the DoD Comptroller asked 

for further information before making a final determination. The information requested is concerned with previous computer contracts for the 

STC, the capabilities of other computer alternatives, and the applicability 

of Apollo software to the MOL mission. Action on these items was assigned 

to the STC, appropriate Air Staff Offices and the MOL Program Office. 

The MOL Program input indicates major differences between the 

Apollo and MOL Programs and why these differences prevent most of the 

Apollo software from being economically modified for MOL use. It also 

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indicated that the Apollo reentry program appears to be applicable to 

a large degree and that MOL is planning to use large portions of the 

mathematics flow. It is anticipated that all the information requested 

by DoD will be compiled shortly and the answers forwarded early in April. 

E. Proposed DoD/BoB MOL Budget Issue Memorandum to the President 

The proposed DoD/BoB MOL Budget Issue Memorandum to the President 

has been redrafted and emphasizes the importance of Man's Role in the 

Satellite Reconnaissance System. The memorandum is presently being 

reviewed by the Bureau of the Budget. 

F. Memorandum for the Air Force Secretary on MOL Funding 

A memorandum for the Secretary of the Air Force which outlined 

the MOL Program Funding/Schedule chronology, program impact as a result 

of funding changes, and summary recommendations was forwarded on March 26, 

1969. 

The summary/recommendation is quoted as follows: 

"At the $556 million level in FY 70, and assuming adequate 

future-year financial support, the first manned launch in the MOL Program 

will take place at least 27 months behind the initial Phase II target 

date of December 1969. Approximately half of those 27 lost months can 

be attributed to inadequate funding, and the remainder to the decision 

to fly a production model camera system at the outset plus the longerthan-anticipated time required for camera system development. 

Of the more than $1 billion, increase in estimated total cost 

since December 1966, as much, perhaps, as a third can be attributed to 

more detailed program definition and refined cost estimates; however, 

the majority of the increase is a direct result of development and flight 

schedule stretchout for the reasons cited above. 

The MOL Program development status today is such -- sizable 

quantities of test hardware are flowing between contractors; initial 

flight hardware is in fabrication; approximately 80 percent of peak 

contractor manpower is on board, etc. -- that what seems to be relatively 

minor fund reductions result in disproportionately large development 

stretchouts and net increases in total program cost. . . . In retrospect, 

because of the many major variations between planned and allocated funds, 

certainly not all of the $1.2 billion spent to date has been used as 

effectively as it could have been. 

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Past events leave little doubt that the AF and OSD believe 

MOL is a worthwhile undertaking. However, the real question is whether 

the DoD/AF can really "afford" MOL (e.g. fund the program at levels 

commensurate with a reasonable return from the large dollar amounts 

which must be committed). MOL history and current financial discussions 

indicate that we either will be unable or unwilling to fund the program 

properly. And if that is a correct assessment of future prospects, 

then we should face the facts and terminate MOL now." 

G. Space Task Group 

Two Officers from the MOL Program Office are working full time 

with the Space Task Group. 

IV. FORECAST FOR FUTURE 

A meeting will be held, at the Systems Office, on April 8, 1969, 

to update Dr. McLucas on the MOL Program. 

V. DUE DATE NEXT REPORT 

The next monthly MOL Program Progress Report will be submitted 

May 9, 1969. 

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