Lachlan Macleay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | June 13, 1931 Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Status | Retired |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | USNA, B.S. 1954 University of Southern California, MBA 1970 |
| Occupation | Test pilot |
| Space career | |
| USAF Astronaut | |
| Rank |  Colonel, USAF |
| Selection | 1965 USAF MOL Group 1 |
| Missions | None |
Lachlan "Mac" Macleay (born June 13, 1931) is a retired colonel in the United States Air Force and a former USAF astronaut. Although he trained for the USAF 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 Vietnam War as commander of the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS) at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. The 23d TASS, flying 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]
