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DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE 

MANNED ORBITING LABORATORY, SYSTEMS PROGRAM OFFICE (OSAF) 

AF UNIT POST OFFICE, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90045 

111111

. 

11111100' 11. 

9 - OCTI9C9 

MEMORANDUM FOR GENERAL STEWART 

SUBJECT: MOL Monthly Management Report, 25 August - 25 September 1968 

Attached is the MOL Monthly Management Report for the period 25 August 

25 September 1968. 

1 Atch .'S. B IER, Maj Gen, USAF 

Report Deputy Director, MOL 

BEY-89764/68 

11111 animumemi S 

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MOL Monthly Progress Report 

25 August - 25 September 1968 

I. Program Management 

a. Personnel of the Systems Office, Aerospace Corporation, and 

the associate contractors are working intensely on contract Statements 

of Work to assure their inter-contractor consistency, incorporation of 

upgraded program requirements, clarity and accuracy. Several schedule 

interface problems have received extensive attention and are near resolution. Complete agreement on hardware delivery dates is required before the unpriced S/A's can be issued. Contractor requests for deviations 

to requirements have been negotiated and, when technical integrity is 

not jeopardized, granted. Specification interfaces continue to be 

worked. Preparation has begun for the next (and final before unpriced 

S/A issuance) Interface Technical Signoff Meeting (TSOM) at McDonnell 

Douglas-Western Division the week of 14 October. The Configuration 

Control Board (CCB) will move to the TS(( to formally approve all no-cost, 

no-impact interface documentation concurrently with the technical signoff. This will facilitate inclusion of agreed-to interfaces in the unpriced 

Supplemental Agreement. Review of contract end item specifications has 

continued to assure the incorporation of the latest SP/DR and SAFSL Exhibit 

requirements. This total effort has incurred a tremendous workload on the 

Systems Office/Aerospace team worthy of top program management recognition. 

b. A Technical Sign-off Meeting (TSOM) was held at McDonnell DouglasWestern Division on the Support Module for flights 6 6 7. All interface 

Specifications (IFS's) and Interface Control Drawings (ICD) were signed 

off with the exception of thermal interfaces. A plan to accomplish coordination of this area has been initiated and final signoff is anticipated by 

the end of October. 

c. Negotiations with TRW concerning the Ascent and Reentry Software 

Program were satisfactorily completed with agreements being reached on the 

Statement of Work and related costs. The contract provides a ground system 

that enhances crew safety via malfunction monitoring from the pound and a 

backup computer capability is the event of on-board computer failure prior 

to reentry. 

d. Preparations have been completed for review of the progress made 

by McDonnell Douglas-Western Division in correcting the nine discrepancies 

cited in the Cost Planning and Control System (CPCS) Demonstration/Validation 

Report. The reviewing team is comprised of representatives from Hq AFSC, 

AFPRO/Douglas, AFCMD, DCAA, and selected Systems Office personnel. The 

review at Huntington Beach will begin I October. 

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e. During the morning of 16 September, Mr. Richard Stubbing and 

Mr. Howard Barfield received a MOL Program Overview Briefing consisting 

of a Technical Orientation, Schedules Control and Cost History. Personnel 

of the McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Corporation provided an afternoon 

briefing on similar topics. On the following day, a series of presentations 

was made by the Systems Office in response to specific questions. The 

visitors expressed their satisfaction with the material presented and the 

cooperation received. 

f. Of the $154.5M 

has been initiated. 

FY 69 funds released to the Systems Office, $153.7M 

Systems Office manpower status is: 

Authorized* Assigned* 

Officers 184 159 

Airmen 12 10 

Civilians 106 95 

Hi-grade (33) (31) 

Clerical (73) (64) 

TOTAL 302 264 

* Includes Houston Field Office. 

II. Technical Status 

a. On 17-20 September 1968 Systems Office personnel conducted a 

First Article Configuration Inspection (FACI) on the Pressure Suit Assembly 

(PSA) Training Suit. Significant improvements have been made by Hamilton 

Standard engineers in all areas of the PSA development. However, FACI 

proceedings were not completed at this time due to several discrepancies 

noted during inspection. It is anticipated that necessary actions will be 

accomplished by Hamilton Standard so that FACI can be completed in the 

near future. Upon completion of FACI the first training PSA will be 

accepted by the Air Force for subsequent shipment to McDonnell DouglasEastern Division as Government Furnished Property. 

b. McDonnell Douglas-Western Division has been formally requested to 

procure a microphone for use within the Lab Module, and direction has been 

initiated to delete this requirement from the Hamilton Standard contract. 

This will result in MDAC/WD procuring a separate microphone to be used. 

exclusively for the shirt sleeve environment while HS will procure a microphone to be used exclusively for the PSA. 

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c. The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of the laboratory module 

for development flight # 2 was held on 19-20 September. Twenty-one 

action items were generated during the meeting. 

d. The Booster Interface Functions Simulator (BIFS), which 

simulates the T-IIIM booster for the interface with the Gemini B, is 

undergoing acceptance testing at the Martin Marietta Corporation in 

Denver., The BIFS will be shipped to MDAC (East) for use in the Gemini B 

test program. 

e. A Preliminary Design Review was held at Aerojet General Corporation 

on the modified Stage II Thrust Chamber Assembly. Aerojet discussed their 

design approach and progress in both the combustion chamber and injector 

areas. Special emphasis was placed upon the concurrent development of 

the combustion chamber, using Hastelloy X or the 347 steel materials. 

The results of testing several designas which use both Rastelloy and 347, 

during the next four months will enable the Systems Office to make a 

decision on which material should be incorporated in the production engines. 

f. NASA has requested the MOL Systems Office to extend the loan 

period for the Gemini PCM Ground Station and other equipment from 31 December 

1968 to 31 March 1969 for additional V/STOL testing. A preliminary check 

with McDonnell Douglas-Eastern Division indicates the loan period can be 

extended due to Gemini B schedule changes. NASA will submit a formal request 

for Systems Office consideration. 

g. During a Kapton Wiring Review at McDonnell Douglas-Eastern Division, 

it was determined that the contractor is having some difficulty developing 

a new potting technique. The working of Kapton wire does not differ much 

from Raychen but the temperatures required and the timing of the heat application is much more critical. 

h. The Satellite Control Facility has been investigating the Early 

Orbit Determination problem for MOL. An area of concern is the co-mingling 

of Satellite Control Facility (SCF) and Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) 

spacetrack data available on early revolutions. An ADC/SCF working group 

has tasked Dr. L. Walter, Aeroneutronics Corporation, to investigate various 

data formats and to recommend a method of incorporating coephemeris data 

for early revolutions. 

i. As a result of the review of the EK Camera Optical Assembly (COA) 

Static-Load Structure failure, the following has been determined: (1) The 

test set up was correct and valid; (2) The COA skin thickness was in 

accordance with specification; (3) The measured loads in the area of failure 

were approximately 50X greater than predicted. Prior to initiation of 

corrective action to resolve the immediate COA structure problem, it was 

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recommended that the results of the fourth load cycle be incorporated 

in the analysis. Aerospace was able to furnish EK a forecast of the 

load cycle 4 data which indicates a substantial increase in the expected loads. These loads have subsequently been revised and more 

closely agree with the Martin Company forecast. The revised loads do 

exceed the present design requirements, however, and they also exceed 

the 3A load cycle data. EK has been directed to curtail effort on COA 

assemblies pending completion of the assessment of the impact of load 

cycle 4. In addition, EK has been asked to recommend COA modifications, 

a static test program, and effectivity of changes on existing COA test 

articles. A technical meeting is scheduled for 1 October 68 to plan a 

course of action for resolving this problem. 

j. An ad hoc group met on 20-21 September to evaluate the Image 

Velocity Sensor (IVS) Program. The members of this group, which was 

chaired by Dr. Brian O'Brien, were selected from top military and civilian 

experts in the field of image motion sensing. Background information on 

the use of the IVS in the MOL Program and a description of each vendor's 

IVS approach were provided to each member of the committee prior to the 

meeting. Each of the IVS vendors briefed their system's operation and 

problem areas. GE briefed the IVS vendor selection program, the system 

operation utilizing the IVS, the current IVS specification, the IVS tester, 

breadboard test results and problem areas. The preliminary recommendationof the group is for GE to continue the planned test program. Final 

selection of the vendor is planned for mid-March 19691 

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