NRO APPROVED FOR 

RELEASE 1 JULY 2015 

Handle via BYEMAN 

Control System 

Lt?- 

410011111110! 

maR 5 1968 

aS 

BYE-68255/68 

I 

F 111 

MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD 

SUBJECT: Program Review Council Meeting 

A Program Review Council Meeting was convened in the Pentagon on 

February 20 at 1400 hours. Principals in attendance were: 

Dr. Flax 

General Ferguson 

General Stewart 

General Bleymaier 

General Martin 

General Berg 

Mr. Kirk 

Dr. Yarymovych 

Dr. Leonard 

A resume of the major discussions, actions and decisions follows. 

Deputy Director's Report 

General Bleymaier reviewed program status and progress since the 

December 8 PRC meeting and the guidance resulting therefrom. 

An open item from that meeting was the LMQTV low level acoustic 

testing requirement. Proper low level acoustic testing of the LMQTV 

will require a new facility and may present some problems with respect 

to schedule and hardware exchange requirements. Dr. Flax agreed that 

the current hardware flow and existing test plans may be so inflexible 

that they would emasculate any acoustic testing inserted into the present 

test cycle for the LMQTV. He asked if acoustic testing was necessary and 

what the effect would be of not performing low level acoustic tests in 

light of all the other testing which would be accomplished. The Systems 

Office/Aerospace is to respond to these questions and determine the 

impact and costs of low level acoustic testing on the Laboratory Module. 

General Bleymaier then reviewed near term program milestones and 

discussed program and contractor financial progress. There is a high 

degree of confidence regarding our ability to keep program exposure 

within the manageable limit of something less than $35M at FY 68 year 

end. Douglas is expected to end up with exposure of about $8M, GE $11M 

and the other associates with lesser amounts, but the total is expected 

to be well within the nominal limit set by Dr. Flax. 

DORIAN 

Hai ie Via iiiEMAN 

Control System 

40.4) ksin 

Page 1 of 5 pages 

Copy 1 of 4 copies 

SAFSL Control f, 55-(e 
NRO APPROVED FOR 

RELEASE 1 JULY 2015 SECRET Handle via BYEMAN 

Control System 

It was also noted that the required contractors reductions to MOL 

applied manpower had been accomplished without requiring substantial 

lay-offs. Instead, the people had been absorbed into other company 

efforts. 

Support Module (Dr. Leonard) 

Currently EKC is on contract for a single platen film handling 

system which will accommodate 300# of film, sufficient for a 60 day 

mission with 6 DRV's on flights 6 and 7. 

The phase IA study on extended duration unmanned missions was 

completed in January. The study considered Orbiting Vehicle and DRV 

design, ground system requirements and reliability. TB and UTB film, 

6 and 8 DRV, 1 and 2 platen cameras were among the details examined. 

Among the conclusions drawn from the study are that overall unmanned 

vehicle reliability is AJ 70% for a 30 day mission; w 50% for a 60 day 

mission; and the 6 bucket configuration (standard Mark V RV), using 

UTB film, is sufficient for the 60 day mission. 

Dr. Leonard noted that there was some disagreement between GE and 

Aerospace as to the power requirements for vehicle operational life on 

orbit. Dr. Leonard indicated that he thought the Aerospace power requirement estimate, which is lower than GE's, would prove to be more nearly 

correct. The Aerospace number is very close to the baseline capability. 

Approximately $51 million of SM costs are deferred (but included in 

future year estimates) at the present time. This total is divided primarily 

between McDonnell Douglas (HB) and GE. A significantly lesser amount 

is deferred from the EKC contract. The total is fairly evenly spread over 

FY 69/70/71. The extended duration capability (60 day) requires an 

additional $13 million, with an increase of $1.6 million to the currently 

planned FY 68 effort. 

Dr. Flax remarked that it would be hard to justify the T-IIIM 

booster for a 30 day unmanned mission capability. In this mission 

configuration the booster would have an excess throw weight capability 

of 4,800071". He noted that we must go for the 60 day mission capability 

to support previous commitments. General Ferguson concurred. The 

decision is to proceed with the extended duration (60 day) unmanned 

capability for flights 6 and 7. The increase from $51 to $61 million of 

applicable deferrals is approved. 

DORIAN 

liaL:ic via ijiLtilAN 

Control System 

SECRETPage 2 of 5 pages 

Copy 1 of 1 copies 

SAFSL Control 3yre_ g.2.55--6s 
NRO APPROVED FOR Handle via BYEMAN 

RELEASE 1 JULY 2015 Cofitrol System 

Low Coefficient Materials (Col Knolle) 

The common critical consideration for the tracking, primary, Ross 

and Newtonian fold, and solid master test, mirrors is the temperature 

gradient tolerance on orbit and during test. A second but equally 

critical consideration is the ability to cast and polish to an acceptable 

tolerance and figure the optical glass. 

It appears that the difficulties associated with casting acceptable 

Cer-Vit material to 12" thickness precludes its use for primary mirrors 

due to the requirement imposed by the TM ring, flexures and launch locks 

and COA end cap, all of which are being engineered for 12" thickness 

mirrors. Fused silica and DIE are superior choices from the standpoint 

of producibility. 

It was recommended to Dr. Flax that rather than carry all three 

materials for both the primary and tracking mirrors, we proceed as follows: 

EKC be authorized to initiate procurement of ULE asphere blanks for the 

primary mirrors. We will retain the present fused silica approach as an 

alternate to ULE. For the tracking mirrors, we will continue with both 

ULE and Cer-Vit. A decision will be made not later than August 1968 as 

to which of the two materials to use. All flight folding mirrors will 

use ULE. Solid master test mirrors will include a minimum of three CerVit mirrors. 

Dr. Flax approved the plan recommended as regards mirror materials. 

Colonel Knolle presented an evaluation plan for the optical system. 

This evaluation will be conducted primarily in-house with the participation of selected experts outside the DoD establishment. Dr. Flax 

concurred and recommended that Drs. Mynel and O'Brien be invited to 

participate. 

Contract Negotiations (Gen Bleymaier) 

General Bleymaier then summarized with a presentation of the schedule 

for completing negotiations. In response to a question from Dr. Flax, 

General Bleymaier confirmed that when these negotiations are completed 

they will include, in the definitized contract, everything that is known 

to be part of the baseline program. Further, the costs will not exceed 

the currently established $2.84 billion phase II estimate, and may 

actually be contracted for something less. 

DORIAN 

Handle via PITMAN 

Control System 

Page 3 of 5 pages 

Copy 1 of 4 copies 

S.AFSL ControlFr 8P 
NRO APPROVED FOR 

RELEASE 1 JULY 2015 

Handle via BYEMAN SCCR-E-T-- Control System 

Congressional Activities (General Stewart) 

General Stewart described the results of his briefings and meetings 

with Congressional members and committees. His opinion was that these 

had been useful and that the program enjoyed good key Congressional 

support. 

Dr. Flax requested that General Stewart brief the Senate Space 

Committee before Dr. Foster appears before the congressional committee 

in March. 

Discussion 

(Program Office/Systems Office action) 

Dr. Leonard pointed out that when the secondary platen was used, IR 

film requirements would take light from the IVS and might degrade the 

primary mission capability. Dr. Flax stated that the IVS has priority 

over IR applications in the MOL program. He then instructed General Berg 

to determine if there is a requirement for IR as part of the MOL mission.* 

Dr. Flax enlarged the scope of his discussion to the extent that he also 

agreed that experiments not be considered 

in the baseline program. 

The briefing charts used at this meeting are on file with the 

Program and Policies Division (SAFSLP). 

The meeting adjourned at 1600 hours. 

Action Item Summary 

LMQTV Acoustic Testing - Systems Office/Aerospace are to present 

Dr. Flax with a detailed analysis of the costs and schedules required for 

a low level acoustic test facility. This analysis is to include an 

assessment of the probable effects of not conducting such tests. 

Low Coefficient Materials - An evaluation team is to be established 

by the Systems Office to review actions and activities to date and the 

plan for the near term. Drs. Mynel and O'Brien will be invited to 

participate as members of the team. 

* General Berg confirmed no requirement for IR. TWX 1013) sent 

to SO February 20. 

leagrvia BYEMAN 

Control Sycl.P1 

Dr. Flax wants a non-Byeman classified paper on the MOL Safety Plan 

and Organizational Responsibilities within the next three weeks. General 

Stewart further recommended that there be a safety review this summer, 

and then an annual safety review each year. Dr. Flax is to be provided 

a 2-3 page safety resume for possible use by Dr. Foster during Congressional 

sessions. 

Page 4 of 5 pages 

Copy 1 of 4 copies 

4w40 imm 160 

SAFSL Contro13.00A7g2.515-6V 
S T. STEWART 

or General, USAF 

e Director, MOL Program 

Handle'via BYEMAN 

C4111..Svstr. 

NRO APPROVED FOR 

RELEASE 1 JULY 2015 

Safety - Dr. Flax is to be provided a non-Byeman classified paper 

on the MOL Safety Plan and Organizational Responsibilities. As an 

adjunct to this paper, a 2-3 page safety resume is to be provided for . 

Dr. Foster's use during his appearance before Congressional Committee. 

Congressional - General Stewart is to brief the Senate Space 

Committee before March 15. 

DORIAN 

liadle via BYEMAN 

Control System 

Page 5 of 5 pages 

Copy 1 of 4 copies 

SAFSL Control9.e,/,285-dvg