THE FLIGHTS
 
Skylab 1
May 14, 1973
Unmanned
 
The station was launched into orbit by a Saturn V booster. 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.
 
Skylab 2
May 25-June 22
Charles Conrad, Jr.
Paul J. Weitz
Joseph P. Kerwin
 
28 days, 50 minutes
First manned mission. The crew rendezvoused with Skylab on the fifth orbit.
After making substantial repairs, including deployment of a parasol sunshade
which cooled the inside temperatures to 23.8 degrees C (75 degrees F), by
June 4 the workshop was in full operation.  In orbit the crew conducted solar
astronomy and Earth resources experiments, medical studies, and five student
experiments; 404 orbits and 392 experiment hours were completed; three EVAs
totalled six hours, 20 minutes.
 
Skylab 3
July 28-September 25, 1973
Alan L. Bean
Jack R. Lousma
Owen K. Garriott
 
59 days, 11 hours
Continued maintenance of the space station and extensive scientific and medical
experiments.  Completed 858 Earth orbits and 1,081 hours of solar and Earth
experiments; three EVAs totalled 13 hours, 43 minutes.
 
 
Skylab 4
November 16, 1973 - February 08 1974
Gerald P. Carr
William R. Pogue
Edward G. Gibson
 
84 days, 01 hour
Last of the Skylab missions; included observation of the Comet Kohoutek among
numerous experiments. Completed 1,214 Earth orbits and four EVAs totalling 22
hours, 13 minutes.