Skylab: First U.S. Space Station Skylab: First U.S. Space Station By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor | February 1, 2013 06:40pm ET MORE The Skylab Orbital Workshop experienced a failure that led to a replacement shield to protect against solar heating. Credit: NASA. Skylab was the first space station operated by the United States. It spent six years orbiting Earth until its decaying orbit caused it to re-enter the atmosphere. It scattered debris over the Indian Ocean and sparsely settled areas of Western Australia. Three crews successfully lived on board the station for several months each. The last crew spent 84 days in orbit — an American record that stood until the shuttle era. [ Photos: Skylab, the 1st U.S. Space Station ] Rocky start Various NASA centers had kicked around ideas for a space station for years before Skylab launched. However, the agency was very focused on the space race and moonshots that dominated public consciousness in the 1960s. Money for other endeavors was not as available.

As Apollo began to wind down in the early 1970s, NASA began an Apollo Applications Program to fly unused hardware from the moon program. One idea, proposed by famous Apollo rocket engineer Wernher von Braun , would be to build a space station out of an unused rocket stage. The design evolved over the years as NASA struggled with reduced funding. Skylab finally aimed for space on May 14, 1973. However, a meteoroid shield that was supposed to shelter Skylab accidentally opened about 63 seconds into the launch. The still-thick atmosphere tore the shield off, plunging Skylab into a serious situation. The facility experienced communications problems with the antenna as a result of the incident, but that was the least of the agency's worries. "When the meteoroid shield ripped loose, it disturbed the mounting of workshop solar array wing No. 2 and caused it to partially deploy. The exhaust plume of the second stage retro-rockets impacted the partially deployed solar array and literally blew it into space," NASA wrote. Workers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center scrambled to stabilize the station.

Among other measures, they put the station in an attitude that would minimize overheating, and came up with ways to cope with the station's reduced power situation. Meanwhile, the first crew – led by Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad – would need to make the station habitable before they could get to work. The crew's first challenge during the spacewalk, just hours after launch, was deploying the solar array, but initial attempts met with no luck as a metal strip holding it down refused to give way. Crew members emerged from an expected communications blackout in a foul mood, according to an official NASA account of the mission. "The astronauts were venting their frustration with four-letter words, while Houston repeatedly tried to remind them that communication had resumed," NASA wrote. Realizing the tools they had with them that day would not work, Conrad abandoned the exercise and focused on trying to dock his spacecraft with the station. Unfortunately, the docking mechanism failed and the crew had to depressurize the spacecraft and bypass electrical connections to achieve it. In subsequent days, Conrad's crew erected a sun shade , successfully deployed the stuck array, and began operational work aboard the station.

While the incident was frustrating for the teams involved, it also demonstrated that it was possible to fix a badly damaged space station while it is in orbit. Cutaway view of Skylab Skylab - launched May 14, 1973, part of the Apollo Space Program Skylab (1973) Skylab was the first US space station, it was launched into a 435 km (270 miles) altitude orbit on May 14, 1973 as part of the Apollo program. This 91 ton, 36 meters (4-story) high, 6.7 meters in diameter structure carried three different Apollo crews manned Skylab during its 9 month mission conducting medical experiments, solar observations and detailed Earth resources mapping experiments. Skylab spacecraft reentered the atmosphere on July 11, 1979 scattering debris over the Indian Ocean and the sparsely settled region of Western Australia.

Skylab included eight separate solar experiments; two X-ray telescopes, an X-ray and extreme ultraviolet camera, an ultraviolet spectroheliometer, an extreme ultraviolet spectroheliograph and an ultraviolet spectroheliograph, a white light coronagraph and two hydrogen-alpha telescopes. Resources Experiments Package S190-B (5" focal length camera) Skylab Image of the Baltimore - Washington Corridor, with Landsat 1 (ERTS 1) Classification Holt County Nebraska, Agriculture Skylab: The First U.S. Space Station (Photos) Skylab: The First U.S. Space Station (Photos) By SPACE.com Staff | May 14, 2013 06:00am ET MORE Skylab in Orbit 1973 Credit: NASA Skylab astronauts took this photograph as they approached the orbiting laboratory on the the third and final mission, known as Skylab 4, in November 1973. George Mueller Skylab Sketch Credit: NASA This sketch of Skylab was drawn by Dr. George E. Mueller, NASA associate administrator for Manned Space Flight.

Mueller drew the sketch on August 19, 1966, during meeting at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Skylab's Orbital Workshop Credit: NASA This photograph was taken during installation of floor grids on the upper and lower floors inside the Skylab orbital workshop at the McDonnell Douglas plant at Huntington Beach, Calif. under the direction of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. on Jan. 1, 1970. A Rocket Becomes a Space Habitat Credit: NASA In the 1970s, turning a rocket into a habitat was an affordable way for NASA to build a space station with existing hardware. Image taken Jan. 1, 1970. Skylab Artist Concept Credit: NASA This illustration of Skylab shows the Apollo capsule, which was launched on a Saturn 1B rocket to ferry crews to space, docked to the multiple docking adapter, which was designed and built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Skylab Orbital Workshop From Above Credit: NASA This interior view of the orbital workshop upper level was visible from the airlock hatch. The octagonal opening separated the workshop's two levels.

Image taken May 1, 1972 Skylab's Orbital Workshop Infographic Credit: NASA This cutaway view of a half of the Skylab orbital workshop shows details of the living and working quarters. Saving Skylab Credit: NASA This photograph shows testing of an emergency procedure to free Skylab's meteorite-and-sun shield that had torn loose during launch, and a primary solar array that was jammed. Image taken May 1, 1973. Showering Aboard Skylab Credit: NASA Astronaut Charles Conrad, Jr., Skylab 2 commander, smiles happily for the camera after a hot bath in the shower in the crew quarters of the orbital workshop of the Skylab space station. Image taken June 1, 1973. Dinner Aboard Skylab Credit: NASA Astronaut Owen Garriott eats dinner in the orbital workshop crew wardroom designed and built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Skylab's kitchen was equipped so that each crewman could select his own menu and prepare it to his own taste.

Astronaut Jack Lousma, Skylab Sunshade Deployment Credit: NASA Earth and Skylab are reflected in the gold-coated visor of Astronaut Jack Lousma during a spacewalk in which he and fellow Skylab 3 crewman Owen Garriott deployed the second sunshade. Image taken July 14, 1973. Massive Solar Flare, Skylab Telescope Credit: NASA This ultraviolet photograph of a massive solar flare, spanning a third of a million miles into space, was taken on Dec. 19, 1973, during the Skylab 4 mission by a telescope mounted on the Apollo telescope mount designed and built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Seamstresses Stitch a Sun-Shade Seamstresses sewed a protective shield to replace the one lost during the Skylab launch. A Skylab Christmas Credit: NASA The first American Christmas holiday aboard a space station occurred in 1973 during the Skylab 4 mission to the first American space station Skylab. The station's three-man crew saved up their food cans to create this space Christmas tree. Weight Training in Zero-Gravity Credit: NASA/JSC Astronaut Gerald P.

Carr, commander for the Skylab 4 mission, jokingly demonstrates weight training in zero-gravity as he balances Astronaut William R. Pogue, pilot, upside down on his finger. previous | next Skylab in Orbit 1973 Credit: NASA Skylab astronauts took this photograph as they approached the orbiting laboratory on the the third and final mission, known as Skylab 4, in November 1973. George Mueller Skylab Sketch Credit: NASA This sketch of Skylab was drawn by Dr. George E. Mueller, NASA associate administrator for Manned Space Flight. Mueller drew the sketch on August 19, 1966, during meeting at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Skylab's Orbital Workshop Credit: NASA This photograph was taken during installation of floor grids on the upper and lower floors inside the Skylab orbital workshop at the McDonnell Douglas plant at Huntington Beach, Calif. under the direction of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. on Jan. 1, 1970.

A Rocket Becomes a Space Habitat Credit: NASA In the 1970s, turning a rocket into a habitat was an affordable way for NASA to build a space station with existing hardware. Image taken Jan. 1, 1970. Skylab Artist Concept Credit: NASA This illustration of Skylab shows the Apollo capsule, which was launched on a Saturn 1B rocket to ferry crews to space, docked to the multiple docking adapter, which was designed and built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Skylab Orbital Workshop From Above Credit: NASA This interior view of the orbital workshop upper level was visible from the airlock hatch. The octagonal opening separated the workshop's two levels. Image taken May 1, 1972 Skylab's Orbital Workshop Infographic Credit: NASA This cutaway view of a half of the Skylab orbital workshop shows details of the living and working quarters. Saving Skylab Credit: NASA This photograph shows testing of an emergency procedure to free Skylab's meteorite-and-sun shield that had torn loose during launch, and a primary solar array that was jammed. Image taken May 1, 1973.

Showering Aboard Skylab Credit: NASA Astronaut Charles Conrad, Jr., Skylab 2 commander, smiles happily for the camera after a hot bath in the shower in the crew quarters of the orbital workshop of the Skylab space station. Image taken June 1, 1973. Dinner Aboard Skylab Credit: NASA Astronaut Owen Garriott eats dinner in the orbital workshop crew wardroom designed and built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Skylab's kitchen was equipped so that each crewman could select his own menu and prepare it to his own taste. Astronaut Jack Lousma, Skylab Sunshade Deployment Credit: NASA Earth and Skylab are reflected in the gold-coated visor of Astronaut Jack Lousma during a spacewalk in which he and fellow Skylab 3 crewman Owen Garriott deployed the second sunshade. Image taken July 14, 1973. Massive Solar Flare, Skylab Telescope Credit: NASA This ultraviolet photograph of a massive solar flare, spanning a third of a million miles into space, was taken on Dec.

19, 1973, during the Skylab 4 mission by a telescope mounted on the Apollo telescope mount designed and built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Seamstresses Stitch a Sun-Shade Seamstresses sewed a protective shield to replace the one lost during the Skylab launch. A Skylab Christmas Credit: NASA The first American Christmas holiday aboard a space station occurred in 1973 during the Skylab 4 mission to the first American space station Skylab. The station's three-man crew saved up their food cans to create this space Christmas tree. Weight Training in Zero-Gravity Credit: NASA/JSC Astronaut Gerald P. Carr, commander for the Skylab 4 mission, jokingly demonstrates weight training in zero-gravity as he balances Astronaut William R. Pogue, pilot, upside down on his finger. Skylab | United States space station | Britannica.com United States space station Edward Gibson Skylab, first U.S. space station , launched into Earth orbit on May 14, 1973.

Three successive crews of visiting astronauts carried out investigations of the human body’s adaptation to the space environment , studied the Sun in unprecedented detail, and undertook pioneering Earth-resources observations. U.S. Skylab space station in orbit over a cloud-covered Earth, photographed February 8, 1974, by … NASA Skylab was an outcome of the Apollo Applications Program set up by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1965 to adapt spacecraft and systems developed for the U.S. Moon landing program to a variety of scientific missions. As a first step toward establishing a long-term manned platform in space, Skylab made use of a Saturn V Moon rocket, whose third stage was outfitted with two decks as a habitat and ready-to-use orbital workshop, and the command and service modules of Apollo spacecraft, which ferried the station’s crews and small amounts of supplies. Skylab was 30.2 metres (99 feet) in length and 6.7 metres (22 feet) in diameter and had a mass of about 75,000 kg (165,000 pounds).

Although limited by its consumable resources in the same way as the Soviet Union’s first-generation Salyut stations, Skylab was much roomier and capable of more research. Its main scientific instrument, the Apollo Telescope Mount , incorporated a number of component telescopes and other devices for observing the Sun over a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum , from visible light through X-rays . U.S. space station Skylab (occupied 1973–74), shown with docked Apollo Command and Service … Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. During Skylab’s ascent a thermal meteoroid shield was ripped off, which led to the loss of one of the lateral solar power arrays that was to supply electricity to the station and prevented full extension of the other. The first three-man crew deployed an improvised “parasol” sunshade (later fortified with an overlying sun shield) to prevent serious overheating of the station during their 28-day mission and released the jammed solar array. Skylab hosted two additional three-man crews for missions lasting 59 and 84 days. Each of the three Skylab missions set a new space endurance record.

Although plans called for Skylab to be used again with one of the first space shuttle missions boosting it to a higher orbit, increased solar activity caused its orbit to degrade faster than expected. On July 11, 1979, it entered the atmosphere , broke up, and scattered debris over the southeastern Indian Ocean and Western Australia . Astronaut Joseph Kerwin, Skylab 2 science pilot, forming a perfect sphere by blowing water droplets … NASA/Johnson Space Center Skylab Space Station Tweet on Twitter Skylab was the first US space station and the world’s first big space station. It was launched on May 14th, 1973 by a Saturn V Rocket. Skylab Space Station was assembled from Saturn V and Apollo components. Skylab’s purpose was to serve as a laborarory for scientific experiments in space until February 1974. An Apollo Spacecraft was used to transport the crew to Skylab and to return them to the Earth’s surface. It was a launched on a Saturn 1B rocket. Skylab was used to study: – the Sun. – microgravity research – learn more about Earth.

– to test the effects of long-duration space flights and to see how the human body reacts in space – to helped us learn to live and work in space. – to conduct a variety of scientific and technological experiments, such as metallic-crystal growth in the weightless state. – and function as a laboratory in earth orbit. Skylab Specifications: Structure Weight: 91 metric ton (100-ton) Height: 36 metres (118 feet) Diamater: 6.7 metres (22 feet) Altitude of Orbit: 435km (270 miles) Orbital Mass: 77,088kg Habitable Volume: 283 cubic metres (10,000 cubic feet) Skylab Space Station was a modified third stage of a Saturn V moon rocket. Skylab was actually the refitted S-IVB second stage of a Saturn IB booster (from the AS-212 vehicle), a leftover from the Apollo program originally intended for one of the canceled Apollo earth orbital missions. A product of the Apollo Applications program (a program tasked with finding long-term uses for Apollo program hardware).

Skylab consisted of five parts: Orbital Workshop was the living and working area for the crew. Airlock Module was used by the Astronauts to access the outside of Skylab for spacewalks. Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) was attached to one end of the cylindrical workshop. It was used to study our sun, stars and earth with no atmospheric interference. Multiple Docking Adapter allowed more than one Apollo spacecraft to dock to the station at once. The Saturn Instrument Unit (IU) was used by NASA teams in Huntsville to reprogram the space station using a massive ring of computers. The unit was used to guide Skylab itself into orbit. IU also controlled the jettisoning of the protective payload shroud and activated the onboard life support systems, started the solar inertial attitude maneuver, deployed the Apollo Telescope mount at a 90-degree angle and deployed Skylab’s solar wings. SKYLAB FLIGHTS Skylab orbited Earth 2,476 times during the 171 days and 13 hours of its occupation during the three manned Skylab missions. Astronauts performed ten spacewalks totalling 42 hours 16 minutes.

Skylab 1 – May 14, 1973 Unmanned A two-stage version of the Saturn V rocket launched Skylab to orbit on May 14, 1973 from the NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida. During the launch, the station was damaged. A critical meteoroid shield and one of the station’s two main solar panels were ripped off and the other solar panel was not fully stretched out. That meant that Skylab had little electrical power and the internal temperature rose to 126 degrees Fahrenheit (52 degrees Celsius). Originally it was planned that a crew would be launched from Earth the next day to inhabit the space station. Sixty-three seconds after liftoff, however, a critical meteoroid shield ripped off, taking one of the craft’s two solar panels with it and preventing the other from deploying properly. Ground command maneuvered Skylab so its solar panels faced the Sun to provide as much electricity as possible. But because the meteoroid shield was gone (which also operated as a sun shield), temperatures inside the workshop rose to 126˚F (52˚C).

The launch of Skylab 2 (the first crew to inhabit the space station) was postponed for 10 days while scientists, engineers, astronauts and management personnel at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and elsewhere developed procedures and trained the crew to make the workshop habitable. At the same time, engineers “rolled” Skylab to lower the temperature of the workshop. Almost immediately, technical problems developed due to vibrations during lift-off. A critical meteoroid shield ripped off taking one of the craft’s two solar panels with it; a piece of the shield wrapped around the other panel keeping it from deploying. Skylab was maneuvered so its Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) solar panels faced the Sun to provide as much electricity as possible. Because of the loss of the meteoroid shield, however, this positioning caused workshop temperatures to rise to 52 degrees Celsius (126 degrees F). The launch of Skylab 2 was postponed while NASA engineers, in an intensive 10-day period, developed procedures and trained the crew to make the workshop habitable. At the same time, engineers “rolled” Skylab to lower the temperature of the workshop. On the first launch, part of Skylab fell off.

It tore one solar panel. It wrapped around the other panel so it could not open. The crew was supposed to go up the next day. They had to wait until a way to solve these problems was found. They flew to Skylab 11 days later. The first thing they had to do was fix the problems. Skylab 2 Skylab 2 was launched on May 25, 1973 and landed on June 22, 1973. The mission duration was 28 days, 50 minutes. This was the first manned mission to Skylab. They orbited the Earth 404 times, completed 392 experiment hours, and carried out three spacewalks totalling six hours, 20 minutes. The first Skylab crew were: – Charles C. Conrad Jr. – Paul J. Weitz – Joseph P. Kerwin The first task was to make repairs. These included positioning of a parasol sunshade that cooled the inside temperatures to a more comfortable 75˚F (23.8˚C).

By June 4, 10 days after launch, the workshop was fully operational, and the crew began to conduct solar astronomy and Earth resources experiments, medical studies, and student experiments. In the period up to June 22, when the crew left for home. Skylab was damaged during launch on May 25, 1973, but the crew, veteran astronaut Conrad (Commander), Joseph P. Kerwin, and Paul J. Weitz, all of the navy, carried out EVA repairs, erected a heat-shielding canopy over the exterior of the spacecraft and freed a jammed solar panel. Their flight lasted 28 days. INSTALLED SOLAR SHIELD “PARASOL” FROM SCIENTIFIC AIRLOCK RELEASED SOLAR ARRAY WING ON EVA DOUBLED PREVIOUS LENGTH OF TIME IN SPACE The first crew was launched 10 days later to fix the ailing station. The astronauts stretched out the remaining solar panel and set up an umbrella-like sunshade to cool the station. Joe Kerwin was on the first Skylab crew. He said that the first 2 weeks on the station were very hard. They did not have enough power to run things.

They didn’t even have enough power to make coffee! The crew had to change their plans until everything was fixed. Once the power was running, the crew could start the real work on Skylab. Skylab 3 Skylab 3 was launched on July 28, 1973 and landed on September 25, 1973. This was the second Skyab maned mission. The mission duration was 59 days, 11 hours. The crew completed 858 Earth orbits and 1,081 hours of solar and Earth experiments and carried out three spacewalks totalling 13 hours, 43 minutes. The second crew were: – Jack R. Lousma – Owen K. Garriott After an early bout of motion sickness, they continued the work of the previous crew. Garriott and Lousma deployed a second sun shield during a spacewalk that lasted six and a half hours. The second crew also had a problem. On the way up, Jack Lousma looked out the window. He thought he saw a nozzle floating by. It wasn’t. It was a piece of ice. That ice showed there was a problem.

There was a leak in the engine. Once the crew was on the station, another engine started leaking. People on the ground were afraid that the crew might not be able to come home. A rescue mission was planned. Two astronauts would fly to Skylab to bring the crew back home. But, they didn’t have to go. The capsule that took the crew to Skylab was able to bring them home safely. Installed twinpole solar shield durng space walk, performed major inflight maintenace, doubled prvious length of time in space. Skylab 4 Skylab 4 was lauched on November 16, 1973 and landed on February 8, 1974. This was the final mamed mission to Skylab. The mission duration was 84 days, 1 hour. At 84 days and 1 hour, Skylab 4 remains the longest U.S. spaceflight to date. The crew completed 1,214 Earth orbits and four spacewalks totalling 22 hours, 13 minutes. Increased previous length in space by 50%. The last skylab crew were: – Gerald P. Carr – William R.

Pogue – Edward G. Gibson The crew used a treadmill in addition to the on-board bicycle-like ergometer to help stay in shape. The last of the Skylab missions, its experiments. They observed and photgraphed Comet Kohoutek. The Skylab project was considered completely successful. More than 740 hr were spent in observing the sun by telescopes, and 175,000 solar pictures were returned to earth, as were about 64 km (about 40 mi) of electronic data tape and 46,000 photographs of the earth’s surface. On July 11, 1979, during its 34,981st orbit, Skylab plunged to earth, raining fiery debris over sparsely populated western Australia and over the Indian Ocean. during the three manned Skylab missions. When the flight of the third crew was finished, Skylab was abandoned. Skylab remained aloft until intense solar flare activity caused its orbit to decay sooner than expected. Skylab re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and burned over Australia in 1979.

Following the last mission the Station was positioned in a parking orbit expected to last at least 8 years. Increased solar activity heating the outer layers of the earth’s atmosphere and thereby increasing drag on the Station led to an early reentry on July 11, 1979. Skylab disintegrated over Western Australia and the Indian Ocean, casting large pieces of debris in populated areas (fortunately, the only casualty being an Australian cow). The reentry prevented any further use by the then unfinished Space Shuttle as was envisioned by some at NASA. After all crew activities had been completed and the crews had returned to Earth, Skylab was positioned into a stable attitude and systems were shut down. It was expected that Skylab would remain in orbit for eight to ten years. However, in the fall of 1977, Skylab was no longer flying in a stable attitude as a result of greater than predicted solar activity. On July 11, 1979, the empty Skylab spacecraft returned to Earth, scattering debris from the south-eastern Indian Ocean across a sparsely settled region of western Australia. NASA and the U.S.

space program were criticized for allowing this to happen-ranging from the sale of hardhats as “Skylab Survival Kits” to serious questions about the propriety of space flight altogether if people were likely to be killed by falling debris. It was an inauspicious ending to the first American space station, not one that its originators had envisioned. Nevertheless, the experiment had whetted the appetite of NASA leaders for a permanent presence in space On the 11th July, 1979, Skylab re-entered the Earth’s atmoshpere and scattered debris over the Indian Ocean and the sparsely settled region of Western Australia. Conclusion Three crews visited Skylab. Each of the Skylab crews set new time records. The last crew set a record that was not broken for over 20 years. Did you know? * Two flight-quality Skylabs were built. The second (backup) is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, USA. * Skylab was launched in one launch and required no assembly. The International Space Station (ISS) will take many years to put together in orbit. * Skylab was the first and only United States Space Station to date. The ISS involves many countries.

A POST-APOLLO PROGRAM In 1969 a Space Task Group recommended to President Richard Nixon a space program to follow the missions to the Moon. The plan included a permanently occupied space station, a reusable shuttle spacecraft, and eventual missions to Mars. But because of increasing budget pressures these ideas received little political or public support. Only the Space Shuttle won favor and funding, and even that decision was controversial. When the last two Apollo missions were cancelled, NASA used some of the remaining Apollo hardware for an experimental space station, Skylab, as an interim program before the Shuttle was ready to fly. Although the STS-107 spiders were the first Australian animals in space, they weren’t the first spiders in space. Anita and Arabella, two female cross spiders (Araneus diadematus) went into orbit in 1973 for Skylab 3 space station. Like the STS-107 experiment, the Skylab experiment was a student project. Judy Miles, from Lexington, Massachusetts, wanted to know if spiders could spin webs in near-weightlessness. Here is Judith Miles: In zero gravity, a lot of things tumble, roll, flip and tip. Can you name something that spins in zero-gravity?

Hint: it has eight legs and would scare Miss Muffet. That’s right: a spider. In this case, two of them. Anita and Arabella took off into space way back in 1973. They were on board Skylab, an early, experimental orbiting space station. Also on board were 720 fruit flies, six mice, two minnows and 50 minnow eggs! Busy place. What was this creature-zoo up to? They were all part of student experiments. Anita and Arabella were onboard for high school student Judy Miles from Lexington, Massachusetts. Judy wondered if spiders could spin webs in weightlessness. Good question. So, the lucky student got to team up with NASA space scientists to design an experiment that would measure how well spiders weave their webs in space. So what did Judy and NASA learn? Zero gravity didn’t stop Anita and Arabella from doing what spiders do — spin webs. This little bit of first spider in space Spiders have been astronauts in space missions. In 1973, the two common cross spiders “aranous diadematus” Arabella and Anita became famous for their stay in the Skylab space station.

Both spiders were successful in spinning webs in weightlessness; examples can be seen in above images. Unfortunately, these two spiders did not return safely: Anita died in-flight before returning, and Arabella was found dead after splash-down of the Skylab-3 (2nd manned mission) Apollo CM. Arabella and Anita have the right stuff. These two common spiders were NASA’s first eight-legged astronauts! Anita and Arabella got their mission because a high-school student named Judy Miles wondered if spiders could spin webs in a weightless environment. She suggested sending spiders into space to find out. NASA space scientists liked her proposal and went to work designing special cages, lights, and cameras. On August 5, 1973, Arabella and Anita blasted off into space on Skylab II. On her first day in orbit, Arabella didn’t do well. She spun sloppy webs and obviously felt the effects of weightlessness. However, by her third day in space, she was spinning just as though she were back at home. Her webs were finer in space, which was expected. But the pattern remained the same. She proved that spiders can spin nearly Earth-like webs in space.

Though Arabella and Anita have both died, their bodies remain at the Smithsonian, memorialized for their small, vital part in increasing our knowledge of space. Skylab Links: Skylab Space Station Received Official Name in 1970 Mike Wright Marshall Space Flight Center Historian In 1970 a new and official name was assigned to one of the most important projects in the 35-year history of the Marshall Center. In February 1970, NASA approved the name "Skylab" for a project that would result in America's first space station. Of course, the origins of Skylab go back further than 1970. In the mid- 1960s NASA employees focused their talents on answering President Kennedy's challenge to land a man on the moon before the end of the decade. At the Marshall Center, this meant developing the huge Saturn rockets. At the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, it meant developing the Apollo spacecraft, and at the Kennedy Space Center it meant getting ready to launch the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon.

But while progress toward a manned lunar landing moved forward in the 1960s, NASA planners were also studying the direction that NASA might take after Apollo. The studies focused on how Saturn/Apollo technology could serve as building blocks for new space objectives. Long before President Kennedy issued his manned lunar landing challenge to the nation, space flight engineers and scientists like Wernher von Braun had dreamed of the day when humans could stay in space for extended periods of time and perform meaningful scientific experiments. During the 1960s, NASA officials like Von Braun, who served as the first Director of the Marshall Center, knew that the Apollo spacecraft would be a versatile spacecraft but that it would be designed for extremely limited manned scientific operations. NASA moved forward to accomplish the Apollo missions, but it also studied ways to build future spacecraft that could stay in space for longer periods of time and accomplish more detailed scientific objectives. The key to the planning revolved around making maximum use of Apollo technology.

Such studies began in the mid-1960s under such uninspiring titles as "Extended Apollo (Apollo X)" and the "Apollo Extension System (AES)." In 1965 NASA grouped such studies under something called the "Apollo Applications Program," another name that failed at inspiration. In reality, what NASA wanted to build after Apollo might have been called a "space station." But that term brought huge dollar signs to the minds of the nation's political leaders at a time when the United States was pouring massive expenditures into the war in Vietnam and assigning new priorities to its domestic needs. Still NASA studied its options and turned to the third stage of Marshall's Saturn V moon rocket for the answer. The stage required massive amounts of fuel when NASA used it on the Saturn V to launch the Apollo astronauts to the moon. But the extra fuel would not be required for an earth orbital mission, and the stage could be completely outfitted as an orbital workshop before launch. NASA officials knew their idea for using a Saturn rocket stage as a laboratory in space needed a name and it needed identity. Trying to call the program "Apollo Applications" just didn't work, according to Skylab historians David Compton and Charles Benson. "AAP" became the butt of frequent jokes.

Opponents referred to it as "Almost a Programs' and as "Apples, Apricots and Pears." According to Compton and Benson, one editorial cartoon showed two Martians observing the AAP space station. One with a puzzled expression was telling the other. "I don't know what the hell it is, but I think they call it AAP." NASA Administrator Thomas Paine decided to remedy the situation. At his direction, a committee considered nearly 100 names and recommended eight, four from mythology and four from American history. In reality, the committee passed over the recommendations and selected, instead, a name submitted by Lt. Col. Donald Steelman, an Air Force officer on duty with NASA in 1968. "Skylab" was a contraction for "laboratory in the Sky" and was quickly accepted within and outside of NASA. Of course, Skylab's success and place in history has rested on more than its name. The 100-ton orbital workshop was launched on May 14, 1973 aboard a Marshall-managed Saturn V.

Marshall-developed Saturn IB rockets were later used to launch three different three-man crews to the Skylab space station, which served as a complete orbiting home and scientific laboratory for the nine Skylab astronauts who lived and worked in teams of three in shirtsleeve comfort. Skylab's comprehensive program of scientific experimentation revealed unknown information about man's capability to withstand long periods of weightlessness, about the adaptability of living creatures to the space environment, and about life itself. NASA/Marshall Solar Physics The Skylab Missions Click on image for larger version. Skylab, the first US space station, was launched into orbit on May 14, 1973 as part of the Apollo program. This 91 metric ton structure was 36 meters (four stories) high, 6.7 meters in diameter and flew at an altitude of 435 km (270 miles).

Three different Apollo crews manned Skylab during its 9 month mission: Charles Conrad, Joseph Kerwin, and Paul Weitz from May 25 to June 21, 1973; Alan Bean, Owen Garriott, and Jack Lousma from July 28 to September 24, 1973; and Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson, and William Pogue from November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974. Skylab included eight separate solar experiments on its Apollo Telescope Mount: two X-ray telescopes (S-054 sponsored by American Science and Engineering and S-056 sponsored by Marshall Space Flight Center); an X-ray and extreme ultraviolet camera (S-020 sponsored by the Naval Research Laboratory); an ultraviolet spectroheliometer (S-055 sponsored by Harvard College Observatory); an extreme ultraviolet spectroheliograph and an ultraviolet spectroheliograph (S-082A and S-082B sponsored by the Naval Research Laboratory); a white light coronagraph (S-052 sponsored by the High Altitude Observatory); and two hydrogen-alpha telescopes (H-alpha no.

1 sponsored by Harvard College Observatory and H-alpha no. 2 sponsored by Marshall Space Flight Center). Click on image for larger version. MSFC Solar Physics Branch members were involved with the soft x-ray telescope, S-056. This grazing incidence telescope produced images of the Sun in x-rays with wavelengths from 6 to 49 &Aring. Images (84 kb GIF image) taken through 6 different filters were recorded on film which was then returned to Earth with the astronauts for processing. A movie (601 kb mpeg movie) of these images shows some of the discoveries made from Skylab including coronal holes and x-ray bright points. Coronal holes are seen as dark regions in which the hot coronal material is very thin. X-ray bright points are small, compact, short-lived brightenings that are most easily seen in the coronal holes themselves. Coronal holes were observed to rotate fairly rigidly and maintain their shape through several 27-day solar rotations in spite of the variations in rotation rate of the solar surface. When Skylab was launched it lost a solar panel and part of its external shielding. Skylab astronauts had to rig a "golden umbrella" to keep their habitat comfortable.

Skylab re-entered the Earth's atmosphere in 1979 over Australia. This re-entry was a year or two earlier than expected. Skylab - definition of Skylab by The Free Dictionary Skylab - definition of Skylab by The Free Dictionary Related to Skylab: International Space Station Skylab (ˈskaɪˌlæb) n (Astronautics) a US space station launched in May 1973 into an orbit inclined at 50° to the equatorial plane at a mean altitude of 430 kilometres (270 miles), the astronauts working there under conditions of zero gravity. It disintegrated, unmanned, in 1979, with some parts landing in the outback of Australia [C20: from sky + lab(oratory)] Skylab - United States space station; in orbit from 1973 to 1979 Translations [ˈskaɪlæb] N → skylab m, laboratorio m espacial Skylab Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content .

Link to this page: Write what you mean clearly and correctly. References in periodicals archive ? Over 114,000 images were operated from 869 flights over Mexican highways in a project implemented by DroneDeploy mapper Sergio Serrato of Skylab Industries. NASA To Mark 40th Anniversary Of Skylab And Life Off Earth Ian continues " Network emulators allow us to create the worst kind of networks, and seeing how our applications behave allows us to make sure our systems work no matter where in the world our networks, staff and customers are located and INE LCD continues to be an important part of our network testing within our Skylab. America's First Space Station: The NASA Skylab - Universe Today Universe Today America’s First Space Station: The NASA Skylab Article Updated: 27 Jun , 2016 by Matt Williams Before there was the International Space Station , before there was Mir , there was Skylab . Established in 1973, and remaining in orbit until 1979, this orbital space station was American’s first long-duration orbital workshop, and the ancestor of all those that have followed.

Originally conceived of in 1969, the plans for the station were part of a general winding down that took place during the last years of the Space Race – which officially ran from 1955 to 1972. Having sent astronauts into orbit and achieved the dream of manned missions to the Moon, the purpose of Skylab was to achieve a lasting presence in space. Rather than simply “getting there first”, NASA was now concerned with staying there. Planning: The seeds of Skylab were planted as early as 1959, when Wernher von Braun – the head of the Development Operations Division at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency – proposed a mission that would use a multistage rocket to place men on the Moon. As part of this mission, the upper stage of the rocket would be deposited around the Earth to function as an orbital laboratory. Known as Horizon, these plans were eventually be seized upon by NASA, which was rapidly forming at the time. A 1967 conceptual drawing of the Gemini B reentry capsule separating from the MOL at the end of a mission.

Credit: NASA Similarly, as of September 1963, the US Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA began collaborating on a manned facility known as the “Manned Orbital Laboratory” (MOL). The initial DoD plan called for a station that would be the same diameter as a Titan II upper stage, and which would primarily be intended for photo reconnaissance using large telescopes directed by a two-man crew. As the head of the Marshall Space Flight Center during the 1960s, Von Braun became concerned that his employees would not have work beyond developing the Saturn rockets intended for the Apollo program . As a result, he began advocating for the creation of a space station using modified Apollo hardware – which included the S-II second stage of a Saturn V rocket . Throughout 1965, several more proposals were considered that relied on the Saturn S-IVB stage to create a space station. As part of NASA’s The Orbital Workshop program, this proposal also called for sending a crew to man the station using a Apollo Command-Service Module (CSM) aboard a Saturn IB rocket. This artist’s concept is a cutaway illustration of the Skylab with the Command/Service Module being docked to the Multiple Docking Adapter.

Credit: NASA The crew would dock with the station, vent the residual propellants from the S-IVB stage, fill the hydrogen tank with a breathable oxygen atmosphere, and then enter the tank and outfit it as a station. On August 8th, 1969, after years of development and workshops, the McDonnel Douglas Corporation received a contract to create an Orbital Workshop out of two existing S-IVB stages. In February of 1970, the program was renamed “Skylab” as a result of a NASA contest. A Saturn V rocket that was originally produced for the Apollo program – before the cancellation of Apollo 18, 19, and 20 – was re-purposed and redesigned to carry the station into orbit. Launch: Skylab was launched on May 14th, 1973 on a mission that is sometimes referred to as Skylab 1 (or SL-1). Severe damage was sustained during the launch when the station’s meteoroid shield and one of the two solar panels tore off due to vibrations.

Since the station was designed to face the Sun in order to get as much power as possible, and the shield was ripped off, the station rose to a temperature of 52°C. As a result, scientists had to move the space station and effect repairs before astronauts could be dispatched to it. Launch of the modified Saturn V rocket carrying the Skylab space station. Credit: NASA Missions: The first manned mission (designated Skylab 2, or SL-2) took place on May 25th, 1973, atop a Saturn IB and involved extensive repairs to the station. This mission last four weeks, and astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., Paul J. Weitz, Joseph P. Kerwin were the crew members. During the mission, the crew conducted a number of experiments, including solar astronomy and medical studies, and three EVAs (extra-vehicular activities) were completed as well. The second manned mission, also known as Skylab 3 (SL-3), was launched on July 28th, 1973. The crew consisted of Alan L. Bean, Jack R. Lousma, and Owen K. Garriott.

The mission lasted 59 days and 11 hours, during which time the crew carried out additional repairs as well as performing scientific and medical experiments. The third and final mission to the Skylab ( Skylab 4, SL-4 ) was the longest, lasting 84 days and one hour. Gerald P. Carr, William R. Pogue, Edward G. Gibson were the crew, and in addition to performing various experiments, they also observed the Comet Kohoutek. The crew conducted three EVAs which lasted a total of 22 hours and 13 minutes. Skylab in February 1974, pictured by the SL-4 crew as they depart the station to return to Earth. Credit: NASA Skylab was occupied a total of 171 days and orbited the Earth more than 2,476 times during the course of its service. Each Skylab mission set a record for the amount of time astronauts spent in space. Decommissioning: Though NASA hoped that the station would remain in orbit for ten years, by 1977, it became clear that it would not be able to maintain a stable orbit for that long.

As a result, after SL-4, preparations were made to shut down all operations and de-orbit the station. Skylab’s demise was an international media event, with merchandising of T-shirts and hats with bullseyes, wagering on the time and place of re-entry, and nightly news reports. In the hours before re-entry, ground controllers adjusted Skylab’s orientation to try to minimize the risk of re-entry on a populated area. They aimed the station at a spot 1,300 km (810 miles) south southeast of Cape Town, South Africa, and re-entry began at approximately 16:37 UTC, July 11, 1979. The debris reached Earth on July 11th, 1979, raining down over the Indian Ocean and parts of Australia. On May 13, NASA commemorated the 40th anniversary of Skylab’s liftoff with a special roundtable discussion broadcast live on NASA TV. The event took place at NASA’s Headquarters in Washington, DC, and participants included Skylab and current ISS astronauts and NASA human spaceflight managers.

While the station did not have the history of service that NASA initially hoped for, the development, deployment and crewed missions to Skylab were essential to the creation of the International Space Station, which began almost 20 years after Skylab came home. We have many interesting articles on the Apollo program and space stations here at Universe Today. For example, here are some articles on Apollo 20 and the International Space Station . You should also check out Skylab and NASA Skylab . Astronomy Cast has an episode on space elevators . First line should read “Before there was…” Honestly ! Thanks for noticing, Herr Spacer! 😉 Spacer Very good article. A lot I didn’t know. Thanks. Eraserstp “Earth’s First Space Station” – What about Salyut 1? OscarFemur “Skylab was in the sky for a total of 171 days…” when it was up from 1973-1977? Yeah, typo that didn’t get corrected during revisions. I should say (and now does) it was occupied for 171 days while in orbit.

mewo Sorry to join the chorus line of nit pickers, but… “seized upon by NASA, which was the rapidly forming at the time” The rapidly forming what?

Question: What was the name of the first US space station, launched in 1973?
Answer: Skylab