SKYLAB

SkyLab, the first space station to be launched by the United States. SkyLab was a pre-assembled workshop with a telescope mount attached to it. The Skylab station was set into orbit on May 14, 1973, after being lunched atop the huge Saturn V luanch vehicle. The station housed three crews over the 1973-74. A few years later it reentered the Earth's orbit and was destroyed.

Skylab's basic structure is the third stage of the Saturn V booster converted to house the Lab. By doing this NASA saves alittle money, which can be used on future mission. Theis section of the booster provides a cylindrical shell, enclosing a cabin about 14.6 meters (48 feet) long and 6.4 meters (21 feet) in diameter, with about 283 cubic meters (10,000 cubic feet) of living space. It housed its crews for 28, 59, and 84 days with just a few problems. . . . on the first day. The third crew set a record for continuous residency in space that lasted until 1978, when cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Georgi Grechko aboard the Soviet station Salyut 6 surrpassed it.

Skylab's basic componite was called the Orbital Workshop (OWS). Three other major sections were also attached to the station. The first section was a docking structure, called the Multiple Docking Adapter (MDA), which held the controls for the telescope array and provided the docking port for the Apollo spacecraft that carried the crews to and from Earth. The second section was the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM). It had instruments for observing the Sun's invisible rays of light, such as, ultraviolet, and X-ray portions of the spectrum. The third and final piece separated the Multiple Docking Adapter from the Workshop. It was the Air-lock Module (AM), which housed various life-support, electrical, and communications systems. The Workshop, Air-lock Module, and Multiple Docking adapter together gave the crew about 360 cubic meters (12,700 cubic feet) of space to work in.

Skylab was suppose to remain in orbit until 1981-82, when it could be refueled by the Space Shuttle and return to a higher orbit. However, NASA, underestimated the level of solar activity, which exerted a drag ont he station causing its to decay quicker than NASA had estimated.

Skylab was the largest space vessel to fall back to Earth. When Skylab was reentering the atmosphere it was a matter of public concern, for months because of the uncertainty as where it would fall. Skylab came back down to Earth on July 11, 1979. The station disintegrated instantly, spredding pieces of it over the Indian Ocean and uninhabited regions of Australia.

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