Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

This is a 1:30 scale model of the Manned Orbital Laboratory (MOL), a U.S. Air Force space-based reconnaissance platform that never became operational. The crew of two astronauts would be launched in a Gemini capsule to the MOL and serve aboard it for two to four weeks. They would then return to Earth in the capsule, while the MOL remained in orbit. Because unmanned reconnaissance satellites could do the same job at less cost and without hazard to humans, the MOL project was cancelled in the late 1969.

McDonnell Douglas Corporation made this model and donated it to NASM in 1972.

Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type MODELS-Crewed Spacecraft & Parts Manufacturer McDonnell Douglas Corporation
Dimensions 3-D: 71.1 x 18.1 x 25.4cm (28 x 7 1/8 x 10 in.)
Materials Plastic, Wood, Stainless Steel, Copper Alloy, Chrome Plating, Paint, Felt
Inventory Number A19720969000 Credit Line Gift of McDonnell Douglas Corporation Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.