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We frequently hear only of the ISS (International Space Station),especially as Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams recently returned to Earth despite an extended stay. There were however, predecessors, such as Skylab, the United States’ first space station. It was launched on this day 52 years ago, that’s right! We’ve been in the space station business for over half of a century at this point. Skylab was launched by NASA and inhabited for 24 weeks on an off between three mission crews.

Skylab was launched on the 14^th and was first inhabited 11 days later on the 25^th. Skylab 2 mission carrying astronaut Pete Conrad (A Naval Flight Officer, and the third person to walk on the moon), Joseph Kerwin (the first medical doctor in space), piloted by Paul Weitz. The crew spent 28 days on Skylab, returning to Earth and becoming the first space station occupants to return to Earth. Previous attempts to stay on other space stations resulted in death of the occupants upon reentry.

Originally, the crew was supposed to launch the day following Skylab, on the 15^th. This had to be rescheduled for the crew to learn how to repair Skylab, during launch its micrometeorite shield and a solar panel had torn loose. Additionally, the remaining solar panel was jammed from movement, and the shield also served as insulation and protection from heat. Occasionally, Skylab would cook in the Sun’s rays without thermal protection.

This heat was so intense that the materials within the workshop that was on Skylab had released toxic chemicals into the sealed atmosphere of the workshop. These chemicals began to damage on board film and food supply that was waiting the crew of Skylab 2. It took NASA less than ten days to formulate a plan, design repair instructions, and teach the astronauts the new procedures.

Once the crew left Earth they approached Skylab to assess the damage. During this time they used navigation nitrogen in order to soft dock with the station. During this time, the pilot Weitz and Kerwin the doctor conducted a spacewalk to free the jammed solar panel. Weitz left the safety of the ship, to grab a ten foot pole with a hook attached in an effort to shake it loose. Weitz was held only by Kerwin, who was holding Weitz by the leg, keeping him between the never ending void of space. This effort failed.

This would lead to the crew attempting to do a complete dock to Skylab. The crew failed and failed again, they attempted eight times to dock with the same outcome, failure. This led to the crew conducting another space walk, where they would completely disassemble their crafts docking probed. After the fix, the crew was able to dock and enter Skylab. The toxins had been cleared by ground control which had purged the interior atmosphere by filling it with pure nitrogen. They did this four times before filling it with breathable air. Despite the toxins being cleared, the initial cause still remained, the workshop was still hot and creating a toxic environment. Almost immediately upon entry, the crew was able to deploy a collapsible parasol which acted as a sunshade and dropped temperatures to acceptable levels within Skylab.

Skylab went on to support two additional missions and gather significant scientific data and set precedence for space travel.