National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Visit: Air Force Gemini - The Manned Orbiting Laboratory

By Fred Harl

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has a very unique piece of space hardware on display - a USAF flight-rated Gemini B that was later modified for use in the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program.  The Air Force was interested in adopting the Gemini spacecraft attached to a cylindrical laboratory and launched by a Titan IIIC booster for manned reconnaissance missions in space.  The program was cancelled in 1969 after only one unmanned test flight, even though a separate corps of astronauts was in the running on a parallel track to the NASA Apollo missions.  Here are a few photos and helpful links for further reading on the program:

  















http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1647

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=551

http://americanspacecraft.com/pages/gemini/gem-molb.html