Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography, & More Skylab
Mar 10, 2026
A retro space saga about America’s first orbital laboratory built from Apollo leftovers. The dramatic launch and rapid in‑flight repairs that saved the station. Long stays studying the Sun, Earth, and how bodies adapt to weightlessness. Crew workload tensions and the famous schedule protest. The uncontrolled reentry and Skylab’s lasting influence on later space stations.
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Skylab Was Built From Apollo Surplus
- NASA repurposed surplus Apollo hardware into Skylab to continue human spaceflight affordably after Apollo.
- The Apollo Applications Program converted a Saturn upper stage into a 170,000-pound orbital workshop launched on the final Saturn V.
First Crew Pulled Off Emergency Repairs
- Skylab's launch tore off its micrometeor shield and jammed a solar panel, leaving the station overheated and underpowered.
- Ten days later Pete Conrad, Joseph Kerwin, and Paul Weitz deployed a sunshade and freed the panel during spacewalks to save the station.
Skylab Validated Long Duration Operations
- Skylab proved astronauts could perform complex in-orbit maintenance and live long enough to run sustained science operations.
- After repairs, missions focused on solar astronomy, Earth observation, and biomedical studies over weeks to months.