For a very interesting read on early spy satellites and how the debate
about whether to have them manned or not, which goes back to before
Sputnik 1 went into space, check out Dwanye Day's recent series on
the subject at The Space Review, with the latest installment here:

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1426/1

It was very interesting to learn that the SAMOS class satellites were
seriously considered to be the pre-MOL and pre-Dyna-Soar way for the
DoD to get their own personnel into Earth orbit.

By the way, check out some of the early von Braun and Wily Ley works
on the wheelicular space station. They assumed that teams of men
(and just men) would be aboard the station doing everything we now
have automatic satellites doing, such as communications and weather
reporting. Same with von Braun's manned lunar missions, with a crew
of 70 doing things common for naval ships of his era in those pre-
computer days.

A bit sad that it didn't happen that way, kind of like how almost all
lighthouses are automated instead of knowing that a brave keeper and
his family were up there tending the beacon and keeping ships safe at
sea.

Wow, I'm getting really nostalgic for manned spaceflight these days.
Must be the leftover effect of the Apollo 11 celebrations.