Lachlan Macleay

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Lachlan Macleay
1965 USAF MOL Group 1
MissionsNone

Lachlan "Mac" Macleay (born June 13, 1931) is a retired

Manned Orbital Laboratory (MOL), the program was cancelled before any of the MOL crews reached space.[1]

Macleay was born in

Saint Louis, Missouri, and graduated in 1954 from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. Although a USNA graduate, he chose to begin his career in the United States Air Force. In 1970, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Southern California.[2]

Macleay was a flight instructor in the

F-86D at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.[2] He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in Class 60A, Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS) Class IV, and MOL.[3] In 1965, Macleay was selected as one of the first astronauts to the Air Force's classified Manned Orbital Laboratory.[2] The MOL program, canceled in 1969 before sending any astronauts into space, was to man a military space station with Air Force astronauts using a modified Gemini spacecraft.[4]

The MOL program was not as memorable to me as the friends I made there. I got to be around some of the smartest and most dedicated people in the world, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

— Macleay, describing his MOL experience.[5]

Macleay continued flying for the Air Force and served a combat tour in Southeast Asia during the

OV-10 Bronco under the callsign Nail, served as forward air controllers directing air strikes against enemy troops.[6]

Macleay retired from the Air Force on May 1, 1978, and joined

Hughes Aircraft in Tucson, Arizona, where he worked on a series of missile systems. He currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[2]

The history of the MOL program was presented in the Public Television series NOVA episode called Astrospies which aired February 12, 2008.[7] Several of the MOL astronauts, including Lachlan Macleay, were interviewed for this documentary.[8]

References

  1. USAF. 2006-09-12. pp. 60–62. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2009-08-16. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  2. ^ a b c d "Astrospies Macleay biography". NOVA. PBS. December 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  3. ^ USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond. Privately Published. 1994. p. 246.
  4. ^ Nutter, Ashley (2008-06-02). "Suits for Space Spies". NASA. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  5. ^ "SECRET ASTRONAUTS – Col. Lachlan Macleay, USAF". Pbs.org.
  6. ISBN 1557509468
    . Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  7. ^ "Astrospies". NOVA. PBS. December 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  8. ^ "Astrospies transcripts". NOVA. PBS. December 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-10.

External links

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