The Skylab program had two primary goals:
- Prove that humans could live and work in space for extended periods of time
- Expand knowledge of solar astronomy using a space-based telescope
The program was composed of four flights, as shown in Table 5.1.
The station was designed with two solar panels that were folded flat against the rocket during launch. Once in orbit, they were to open up like wings and harness the sun's energy to provide electricity for the station. On May 14, 1973, the unmanned Skylab station was launched into orbit. It was damaged during liftoff when a protective shield came loose and smashed against the solar panels, ripping one of them off and damaging the other.
A team of three Skylab astronauts was to have launched the next day. Their flight was delayed for ten days as engineers assessed the damage to the station. The astronauts finally launched on May 25, 1973. They were called the Skylab 2 crew. They successfully docked with the station and began repairing its damaged components. They deployed a temporary sail-like shield to replace the torn-off solar panel. Their mission lasted just over twenty-eight days, a new record for Americans in space. This record was bested by the astronauts of Skylab 3 and Skylab 4.
The Skylab station weighed nearly 100 tons and was about the size of a small three-bedroom house. It included a two-level workshop.
TABLE 5.1
Skylab statistics
| Skylab 1 | Skylab 2 | Skylab 3 | Skylab 4 | |
| Launch date | 5/14/1973 | 5/25/1973 | 7/28/1973 | 11/16/1973 |
| Launch vehicles | Saturn V | Saturn 1B | Saturn 1B | Saturn 1B |
| Orbital parameters | 268.1 x 269.5 miles | 268.1 x 269.5 miles | 268.1 x 269.5 miles | 268.1 x 69.5 miles |
| Orbital inclination | 50 degrees | 50 degrees | 50 degrees | 50 degrees |
| Orbital period (approximate) | 93 minutes | 93 minutes | 93 minutes | 93 minutes |
| Distance orbit | 26,575 miles | 26,575 miles | 26,575 miles | 26,575 miles |
| Crew's mission distance | 11.5 million miles | 24.5 million miles | 34.5 million miles | |
| Crew's number of revolutions | 404 | 585 | 1,214 | |
| Crew's mission duration | 28 days 49 min | 59 days 11 hrs 9 min | 84 days 1 hr 16 min | |
| Crew's experiment time | 392 hr | 1,081 hr | 1,563 hr | |
| Crew's EVA time | 6 hr 20 min | 13 hr 43 min | 22 hr 13 min | |
| SOURCE: Adapted from "Skylab Statistics," in Skylab Program Overview, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Kennedy Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, FL, December 12, 2000 [Online] http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/skylab/skylab-stats [accessed January 12, 2004] | ||||
The Skylab 3 mission included two spiders named Anita and Arabella. The spiders were part of an experiment suggested by a high school student named Judith Miles from Lexington, MA. She wondered if spiders would be able to spin their webs in microgravity. NASA scientists seized upon the idea and sent the spiders into space in cages equipped with still cameras and television cameras. The public became enthralled in hearing about the two spiders.
Neither spider adjusted well to their new environment. Arabella's initial webs were sloppy and lopsided. After a few days the spider seemed to get her space legs and began spinning webs of Earth-like patterns. Both spiders died during the mission, apparently of dehydration. Their bodies were turned over to the Smithsonian Institute and are still kept there in 2004.
Skylab was not designed for long term use. It had no method of independent reboost to keep it from falling out of orbit. On July 11, 1979, the station reentered Earth's atmosphere and broke apart over the Pacific Ocean.
Despite its early mechanical problems, the Skylab program was considered a great success. The total number of hours spent in space by Skylab astronauts was greater than the combined totals of all space flights made up to that time. NASA gained valuable knowledge about human performance under microgravity conditions.
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