Skylab was the United States' first space station, launched by NASA, [3] occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three trios of astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Operations included an orbital workshop, a solar observatory, Earth observation and hundreds of experiments.

May 14, 2023 · Skylab, America’s first space station and the first crewed research laboratory in space, lifted off on May 14, 1973, on the last Saturn V rocket. Although the Soviet Union orbited the first experimental space station called Salyut in 1971, the larger and more complex Skylab enabled research in several areas.

Mar 6, 2025 · With three crews performing hundreds of science experiments and unprecedented observations of the Earth and the Sun, Skylab laid the foundations for the space science program on the International Space Station and for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

May 14, 2018 · Launch of the Skylab space station on May 14, 1973. It was the final launch of a Saturn V rocket. The launch of the first crew, planned to take place 24 hours after Skylab reached orbit, was delayed first by five days and, as troubleshooting continued, another five days until May 25.

Jul 11, 1979 · 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.

May 14, 2023 · Skylab’s launch would mark the thirteenth and final flight of the legendary Saturn V rocket, which had powered previous Apollo missions on their journeys to the Moon.

May 17, 2023 · On May 14, 1973, watched by 25,000 rapt spectators, the last Saturn V patiently sat on Launch Pad 39A at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Atop the rocket was Skylab, the biggest,...

After the Apollo missions to the Moon, the United States used the last of the Apollo-era vehicles to launch an experimental space station, Skylab, in 1973. Skylab was only intended as a temporary home in space. The longest mission, which ended in February 1974, lasted almost three months.

The Skylab space station was launched on 14 May 1973. Shortly after liftoff, a large micrometeoroid shield, designed to protect the orbital workshop, started to structurally fail. Within seconds, aerodynamic forces stripped the shield completely free from the station.

May 14, 2023 · Skylab, America’s first space station, launched on May 14, 1973. Its highly publicized crash back to Earth – during which is dropped huge chunks of hardware into the Indian Ocean and across...