In the SPIES IN SPACE episode, we see that sometimes, secrecy did have its benefits. Just two years ago, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) declassified a top-secret 1960s program to put a manned spy platform into orbit. It was called MOL, a fitting acronym for the secretive Manned Orbiting Laboratory. While Apollo got all the attention and the glory in its race to the Moon, the men and women behind MOL worked in the shadows to give America the eyes and ears it needed to navigate an increasingly dangerous world. After 50 years of secrecy, SPIES IN SPACE will be the first television program to weave together rarely seen footage from America’s secret spy satellite systems with interviews from experts and MOL crew members themselves to tell the story of the space race’s unsung heroes.
