Lachlan Macleay

Infobox Astronaut


name =Lachlan Macleay
type =USAF Astronaut
status =Retired
nationality =American
date_birth =June 13, 1931
place_birth =Saint Louis, Missouri
occupation =Test Pilot
selection =1965 USAF MOL Group
time =
mission =None
insignia =|

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.cite web | url = http://www.losangeles.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-060912-028.pdf | title = Space and Missile Systems Center History | accessdate =2008-10-10 | date = 2006-09-12 | publisher = USAF | pages = pp. 60-62 | format = PDF]

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's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.cite web | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/astrospies/prof-04.html | title = Astrospies Macleay biography | accessdate =2008-10-10 | year = 2007 | month = December | work = NOVA |publisher=PBS]

Macleay was a flight instructor in the F-86D at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in class 60A, Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS) Class IV, and MOL.cite book |last= |first= |title=USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond |publisher=Privately Published |year=1994 |pages=p. 246] In 1965, Macleay was selected as one of the first astronauts to the Air Force's classified Manned Orbital Laboratory. 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.cite web | url = http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/found_mol_spacesuits.html | title = Suits for Space Spies | accessdate = 2008-10-10 | last = Nutter | first = Ashley | date = 2008-06-02 | publisher = NASA]

Macleay continued flying for the Air Force and served a combat tour as commander of the 23d 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. [cite book |last=Whitcomb | first=Darrel D. | authorlink= |title=The Rescue of Bat 21 |page = p. 11 | publisher= Naval Institute Press | year=1998 | id=ISBN 1557509468 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bOw9wE76vJkC |accessdate=2008-10-10]

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.

The history of the MOL program was presented in the Public Television series NOVA episode called "Astrospies" which aired February 12, 2008.cite web | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/astrospies/ | title = Astrospies | accessdate =2008-10-10 | year = 2007 | month = December | work = NOVA |publisher=PBS] Several of the MOL astronauts, including Lachlan Macleay, were interviewed for this documentary.cite web | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3503_astrospi.html | title = Astrospies transcripts | accessdate =2008-10-10 | year = 2007 | month = December | work = NOVA |publisher=PBS]

References

External links

* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/macleay_lachlan.htm Spacefacts biography of Lachlan Macleay]