Skylab Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Skylab
Station statistics
Skylab as photographed by its departing final crew (Skylab 4)
Skylab program insignia
COSPAR ID	1973-027A
Call sign	Skylab
Crew	3 per mission (9 total)
Launch	May 14, 1973 17:30:00 UTC
Carrier rocket	Saturn V
Launch pad	Kennedy Space Center LC-39A
Reentry	July 11, 1979 16:37:00 UTC near Perth, Australia
Mission status	Complete
Mass	170,000 lb (77,000 kg) w/o Apollo CSM
Length	82.4 feet (25.1 m) w/o Apollo CSM
Width	55.8 feet (17.0 m) w/ one solar panel
Height	36.3 feet (11.1 m) w/ telescope mount
Diameter	21.67 feet (6.6 m)
Pressurised volume	12,417 cu ft (351.6 m³)
Atmospheric pressure	5.0 psi (34 kPa) Oxygen 74%, nitrogen 26%
Perigee	269.7 mi (434.0 km)
Apogee	274.6 mi (441.9 km)
Orbital inclination	50°
Orbital period	93.4 min
Orbits per day	15.4
Days in orbit	2,249 days
Days occupied	171 days
No. of orbits	34,981
Distance travelled	~890,000,000 mi (1,400,000,000 km)
Statistics as of Re-entry July 11, 1979
Configuration
Skylab configuration as planned

Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-man crews: SL-2, SL-3 and SL-4. Major operations included an orbital workshop, a solar observatory, Earth observation, and hundreds of experiments.

Unable to be re-boosted by the Space Shuttle, which was not ready until the early 1980s, Skylab burned up in the Earth's atmosphere in 1979, over the Pacific Ocean.

Overview

As of 2019^[update] it was the only space station operated exclusively by the United States. A permanent US station was planned starting in 1969, but funding for this was canceled and replaced with US participation in an International Space Station in 1993.

Skylab included a workshop, a solar observatory, and several hundred life science and physical science experiments, and was launched uncrewed into low Earth orbit by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a weight of 170,000 pounds (77,000 kg). This was the final mission for the Saturn V rocket, more commonly known for carrying the crewed Moon landing missions. Three subsequent missions delivered three-astronaut crews in the Apollo command and service module (Apollo CSM) launched by the smaller Saturn IB rocket. For the final two crewed missions to Skylab, NASA assembled a backup Apollo CSM/Saturn IB in case an in-orbit rescue mission was needed, but this vehicle was never flown. The station was damaged during launch when the micrometeoroid shield tore away from the workshop, taking one of the main solar panel arrays with it and jamming the other main array. This deprived Skylab of most of its electrical power and also removed protection from intense solar heating, threatening to make it unusable. The first crew deployed a replacement heat shade and freed the jammed solar panels to save Skylab. This was the first time that a repair of this magnitude was performed in space.

Skylab included the Apollo Telescope Mount (a multi-spectral solar observatory), a multiple docking adapter with two docking ports, an airlock module with extravehicular activity (EVA) hatches, and the orbital workshop, the main habitable space inside Skylab. Electrical power came from solar arrays and fuel cells in the docked Apollo CSM. The rear of the station included a large waste tank, propellant tanks for maneuvering jets, and a heat radiator. Astronauts conducted numerous experiments aboard Skylab during its operational life. The telescope significantly advanced solar science, and observation of the Sun was unprecedented. Astronauts took thousands of photographs of Earth, and the Earth Resources Experiment Package (EREP) viewed Earth with sensors that recorded data in the visible, infrared, and microwave spectral regions. The record for human time spent in orbit was extended beyond the 23 days set by the Soyuz 11 crew aboard Salyut 1 to 84 days by the Skylab 4 crew.

Later plans to reuse Skylab were stymied by delays in development of the Space Shuttle, and Skylab's decaying orbit could not be stopped. Skylab's atmospheric reentry began on July 11, 1979, amid worldwide media attention. Before re-entry, NASA ground controllers tried to adjust Skylab's orbit to minimize the risk of debris landing in populated areas, targeting the south Indian Ocean, which was partially successful. Debris showered Western Australia, and recovered pieces indicated that the station had disintegrated lower than expected. As the Skylab program drew to a close, NASA's focus had shifted to the development of the Space Shuttle. NASA space station and laboratory projects included Spacelab, Shuttle-Mir, and Space Station Freedom, which was merged into the International Space Station.

Images for kids

Von Braun's sketch of a Space Station based on conversion of a Saturn V stage, 1964
The floor grating of Skylab under construction
Launch of the modified Saturn V rocket carrying the Skylab space station
Skylab 3's Saturn IB at night, July 1973
Skylab in orbit in 1973 as flown, docking ports in view
Owen Garriott performing an EVA in 1973
Spider Anita flown aboard Skylab
Chart for the ED 24 experiment
A labeled illustration of a Skylab film vault, from Skylab: A Guidebook (EP-107) by NASA
Skylab could change its attitude without using propellant by changing the spin of large gyroscopes.
Astronaut Jack Lousma in the shower with curtain partially down, July 1973
Conrad in the Skylab shower in 1973
Earth testing showing partially and fully enclosed positions of the shower curtain
A view of the Skylab space station taken with a hand-held 70 mm Hasselblad camera using a 100 mm lens and SO-368 medium speed Ektachrome film
Hurricane Ellen of 1973, as seen from Skylab
The island of Crete as photographed on June 22, 1973, from Skylab
Skylab as Skylab 2 mission departs
Computational cycle of the Skylab computer program
Skylab Rescue vehicle Apollo CSM being removed from its Saturn IB rocket after the last Skylab mission
Concept for proposed Skylab re-boost
Skylab in February 1974, as Skylab 4 departs
Skylab captured this view of the Sun
Solar prominence recorded by Skylab on August 21, 1973
Fragment of Skylab recovered after its re-entry through Earth's atmosphere, on display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center
5-person Apollo Command module for the Apollo Rescue mission
SA-209 served on standby for Skylab 4 and ASTP, and has been preserved at the Kennedy Space Center rocket garden.
Overview of most major experiments
The waste disposal equipment in the backup Skylab at the National Air and Space Museum.
A mannequin in the backup Skylab at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum.
Skylab commemorative stamp, issue of 1974. The commemorative stamp reflects initial repairs to the station, including the parasol sunshade.
Illustration of Skylab configuration with docked command and service module
Vanguard (T-AGM-19) seen as a NASA Skylab tracking ship. Note the tracking radar and telemetry antennas.
Robbins medallions issued for Skylab missions.
Space Center Houston Skylab 1-G Trainer mannequin.
A mannequin alongside the Skylab 1-G Trainer telescope at Manned Space Center, Houston.
A mannequin in the Skylab 1-G Trainer at Manned Space Center, Houston.
The main module S-IVB is a section of the Saturn V rocket.

Skylab facts for kids

Overview

Images for kids

See also