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Skylab paved the way for the space station
By MARY ALYS CHERRY
Before the International Space Station there was Skylab, America’s first space station.
Skylab was launched with no crew 35 years ago this past May.
A few days later, on May 25, 1973, astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. Paul Weitz and Joseph Kerwin began a 28-day stay that included numerous experiments. They returned to Earth June 22.
Subsequent crews were launched later in the year to show that space station operations were medically feasible, determine design requirements and demonstrate science performance during long-distance flights.
“The in-flight medical experiments gave a very complete picture of the long-term effects of weightlessness on physiology,” Kerwin said some years later in a NASA interview..
“The benefits of exercise as a countermeasure were dramatically demonstrated. Life support, diet and waste management design questions were answered.
Alan Bean, Jack Lousma and Own Garriott spent 59 days on Skylab, returning Sept. 25, with the results of many more experiments.
The last of the Skylab missions, on Nov. 16, 1973, was also the longest — 84 days — with Gerald Carr, William Pogue and Edward Gibson demonstrating the capability to conduct long-duration space operations before returning to Earth Feb. 8, 1974.
Its work done, Skylab was positioned in a stable attitude and its systems were shut down. It was expected to remain in orbit eight to ten years; however, in 1977, due to greater than predicted solar activity, it was determined that Skylab was no longer in a stable attitude.
It fell to Earth on July 11, 1979, scattering debris over Western Australia and the Indian Ocean.
In 1998, as NASA prepared to begin building the International Space Station, Kerwin called Skylab a prototype. “It was intended to pave the way for a permanent space station. Its designers and operators will take special pride in the future success of the ISS.”
Skylab was launched with no crew 35 years ago this past May.
A few days later, on May 25, 1973, astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. Paul Weitz and Joseph Kerwin began a 28-day stay that included numerous experiments. They returned to Earth June 22.
Subsequent crews were launched later in the year to show that space station operations were medically feasible, determine design requirements and demonstrate science performance during long-distance flights.
“The in-flight medical experiments gave a very complete picture of the long-term effects of weightlessness on physiology,” Kerwin said some years later in a NASA interview..
“The benefits of exercise as a countermeasure were dramatically demonstrated. Life support, diet and waste management design questions were answered.
Alan Bean, Jack Lousma and Own Garriott spent 59 days on Skylab, returning Sept. 25, with the results of many more experiments.
The last of the Skylab missions, on Nov. 16, 1973, was also the longest — 84 days — with Gerald Carr, William Pogue and Edward Gibson demonstrating the capability to conduct long-duration space operations before returning to Earth Feb. 8, 1974.
Its work done, Skylab was positioned in a stable attitude and its systems were shut down. It was expected to remain in orbit eight to ten years; however, in 1977, due to greater than predicted solar activity, it was determined that Skylab was no longer in a stable attitude.
It fell to Earth on July 11, 1979, scattering debris over Western Australia and the Indian Ocean.
In 1998, as NASA prepared to begin building the International Space Station, Kerwin called Skylab a prototype. “It was intended to pave the way for a permanent space station. Its designers and operators will take special pride in the future success of the ISS.”
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