THE DEPUTY SEC2ETARY OF DEFENSE 

WASi4INCSON, D. C. 20301 

NROJARFIRCiVcD..F0P,,,, 

C."1\ 

t 

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE 

DIRECTOR, NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE orn GE 

A 

The Air Force is hereby directed to terminate the MOL Program except 

for those camera system elements useful for incorporation into an unmanned satellite system optimized to use the TITAN M.D. Directions 

to MOL contractors should be issued on Tuesday morning, June 10, at 

which time we will also notify the Congress and make a public statement 

that MOL is cancelled. 

Close-out costs for MOL, which I understand are approximately $75 

million more than is now available to the MOL Program, should be included in the unclassified FY 70 Air Force budget. An additional 

should be included in classified NRP portion's of the FY 70 Air 

Force budget. This will provide for development of'the camera system 

at a reduced pace, for competition for a new spacecraft, and for,possiblc 

initiation of system development late in FY 70. . 

All future work on the camera and an unmanned system will n be part of 

the NRP. As a security measure, appropriate elements of the'MOL 

Project Offices and the camera system contracts should be transferred 

-to the. Air Force NRP SpeCial Projects Offices at an early date. Overt 

MOL activities should be phased out in• conjunction with .theycloies5A 

of MOL Program activities. • • - ' 

plan for development of the unmanned system should be subrn'tted 'Lc; 

.the Executive Committee by Augu.sz 1. This plan should izi4ude proposed. 

system performance, cost, and 0'.-hoz..- than continuing the 

camera system development at a reduced ratc., , no new work should 'be 

initiated until this review. 

cc: Mr. Hel:ns. 

Dr. DuBridge 

210"ng ..1.1 

tall% SrT:' 'tort 1 

1" A 

"" 

at %Ail/. -40 -•i 

4•40i•—d■-•■-”•••.■.r 

CROV.? 

.cm 

di4tassifIcat:or. or SECRET 

Cody 

V 

,111,111. 6 IP II 4 il 
/eCik-:15- J-2- 

'44?" 

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORE 

WASHINGTON 20330 

June 10, 1969 

inc rely, 

JO 

Colon USAF 

Chief, Plans Group 

Legislative Liaison 

NRO APPROVED FOR 

RELEASE 1 JULY 2015 

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 

Dear Sir: 

The Secretary of the Air Force has requested that I 

inform you that the Department of Defense (DoD) has termiA6ted the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) Program. 

In arriving at this decision, a number of factors were 

considered. First, it was determined that most essential 

DoD space missions could be accomplished with lower cost 

unmanned spacecraft. Second, the potential worth of possible 

future applications of the experimental equipment being 

developed for MOL, plus the information expected from the 

flights on man's utility in space for military purposes, 

while worthwhile, did not equate in immediate value to other 

DoD programs. 

Attached is a list of the associate and major subcontractors. It should be clearly understood that termination 

is not in any sense an unfavorable reflection on any of the 

MOL contractors. They have all worked very hard and have 

achieved excellent results. 

Likewise, MOL termination should not be construed as a 

reflection on the Air Force. The MOL goals were practical 

and achievable; maximum benefit was being taken of hardware 

and experience from NASA and other DoD space projects; and 

the program was well-managed and good progress was being 

made. Under other circumstances, its continuation would have 

been fully justified. 

The Deputy Secretary of Defense has scheduled a. press 

conference for 10:30 a. m. today, June 10, 1969, at which 

time this information will be given to the news media. 
NRO -APPROVED FOR 

RELEASE 1 JULY 2015 

MANNED ORBITING LABORATORY (MOL) 

ASSOCIATE AND MAJOR SUBCONTRACTORS 

ALABAMA 

Space Craft, Inc. 

CALIFORNIA 

Rohr Corporation 

Cadillac Gage Co. 

Beckman Instruments, Inc. 

Hitco 

Gulton Industry, Inc. 

(Engineered Magnetics Div) 

McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co. 

Rocketdyne Div of North American 

Rockwell Corporation 

Airesearch Manufacturing Co. 

(Div of The Garrett Corp) 

Parker Aircraft 

(Div of Parker-Hannifin Corp) 

Western Gear Corporation 

Philco-Ford Corporation 

(Western Development Labs) 

Aerojet General Corporation 

Borg-Warner Controls 

(Div of Borg-Warner) 

Huntsville 

Chula Vista 

Riverside 

Costa Mesa 

Fullerton 

Gardena 

Hawthorne 

Huntington Beach 

Los Angeles 

Los Angeles 

Los Angeles 

Lynwood 

Palo Alto 

Sacramento 

Santa Ana 
NRO APPROVED FOR 

RELEASE 1 JULY 2015 

CALIFORNIA (Cont'd) 

Scientific Data Systems 

United Technology Center 

(United Aircraft Corporation) 

Cosmodyne Corporation 

Radio Corporation of America 

Marquardt Corporation 

COLORADO 

Martin Marietta Corporation 

CONNECTICUT 

Yardney Electric Corporation 

Hamilton Standard 

(Div of United Aircraft Corp) 

FLORIDA 

General Electric Corporation 

Tele-Dynamics Division 

(AMBAC Industries, Inc.) 

Radiation, Inc. 

Electro-Mechanical Research, Inc. 

Honeywell, Inc. 

IOWA 

Santa Monica 

Sunnyvale 

Torrance 

Van Nuys 

Van Nuys 

Denver 

Pawcatuck 

Windsor Locks. 

Daytona Beach 

Daytona Beach 

Melbourne 

Sarasota 

St. Petersburg 

Collins Radio Cedar Rapids 
NRO APPROVED FOR 

RELEASE 1 JULY 20RARYLAND 

Thiokol Chemical Corporation Elkton 

MASSACHUSETTS 

Digital Equipment Corporation Maynard 

Sylvania Electric Products 

(Div of G T & T) Needham Heights 

MICHIGAN 

Lear Siegler, Inc. Grand Rapids 

Whirlpool Corporation Systems Div St. Joseph 

MINNESOTA 

Honeywell, Inc. Minneapolis. 

Univac Div - Sperry Rand Corp Minneapolis 

MISSOURI 

McDonnell Douglas Corporation St. Louis 

NEW YORK 

Bell Aerosystems Company 

(Textron Inc.) Niagara Falls 

Moog Inc. East Aurora 

Fairchild Hiller Farmingdale, L.I. 

Kollsman Instrument Corp. Flushing 

IBM Corporation Owego 
NRO APPROVED FOR 

RELEASE 1 JULY 2015 

OKLAHOMA 

Avco Corporation Tulsa 

PENNSYLVANIA 

General Electric Corporation King of Prussia 

Valley Forge 

Tele-Dynamics Division 

(AMBAC Industries, Inc.) Philadelphia 

Sonex Inc. Philadelphia 

United Aircraft Corporation Southampton 

American Machine & Foundry Co. York 

TEXAS 

Mark Products Houston 

WISCONSIN 

A.C. Electronics Division 

(General Motors Corp.) Milwaukee 

Allis Chalmers Milwaukee 

4