"Unfulfilled Mission: The Manned Orbiting Laboratory Project"

The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) was a top-secret US program in the 1960s aimed at sending a crewed spy satellite to space to obtain high-resolution photographic imagery of US adversaries like the Soviet Union. Prompted by the need for rapid and reliable intelligence during the Cold War and the Vietnam War, the program aimed to marry the capabilities of spy planes and photo reconnaissance satellites by operating a crewed spy satellite in space. Although the program never made it to space, it was intended to provide real-time intelligence gathering and circumvent limitations faced by traditional satellites.