BY ROBERT F. DORR
The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) was the U.S. Air Force’s most ambitious spaceflight program in the mid- to late- 1960s. It came along when the United States was just finding its way in a perceived space race with the Soviet Union, and offered the prospect of a military presence in orbit and a new surveillance capability.
Following on the heels of a project called Dyna Soar that many believe should not have been cancelled, MOL was an effort to enable up to four Air Force crewmembers to operate in orbit for extended periods in a shirtsleeve environment. Sold publicly as a scientific research project, it was secretly expected to open up new reconnaissance capabilities to enable Americans to look down at Soviet military activity.
https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/what-might-have-been-manned-orbiting-laboratory-mol/
