On display in Seattle Museum of Flight, a Boeing “Manned Orbiting Telescope” model. This looks like nothing so much as a MOL nailed to the Hubble. I’ve seen MOT designs before; they were invariably “man tended” concepts; having a manned spacecraft actually docked to the telescope while the scope is working would be grade-A nuttery. Humans bumping around, fans buzzing, pumps banging back and forth… all would contribute to really very bad astronomy. Consequently, I can only assume that the MOL here was intended to not be permanently attached, but instead just floating nearby. When the scope needs maintenance – such as swapping out film cannisters – the MOL sidles up, docks on and the repairman does his thing… then leaves.
Not shown was how the MOT was to be powered. Solar power, presumably, but no panels were included.
With MOL being a USAF project… you can bet that there’d be one or two MOTs with slightly different optics… and forever pointed down.
2 Responses to “Manned Orbiting Telescope”
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wooha
i know of onfolding Radiodish on MOL and Muliple MOL dock together
but never this: MOL “Pairing” a Hubble telescope 😉
that telescope has point down
Well, at the time “Hubble” and “KH-11” were pretty much the same project…