“I think for me that was probably the low point of the mission because it threatened our ability to get our job done, and I wasn’t willing to come home.  I’ve never been afraid of space, but that was a … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #414 – Skylab – Skylab 3 – Rescue Mission Part 1 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Garriott was in the center couch and Lousma was on his right with a small window near his seat, Suddenly Jack announced, “Owen, there goes one of our thrusters floating by the window!”  

The post Space Rocket History #413 – Skylab – Skylab 3-Rendezvous, Docking & Vomit first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

The crew complement for the Skylab 3 mission was 783 life forms (52 fish, 720 flies, 6 mice, 2 spiders and 3 humans), by far the largest crew yet.

The post Space Rocket History #412 – Skylab – The Launch of Skylab 3 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Before the astronauts could leave there was one final problem to solve. Skylab’s refrigeration system began warming up. Houston immediately went to work on finding a solution. Now, there was some concern that the crews return would be delayed.

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On Mission day 25, the crew was informed that they had surpassed the Russian space endurance record set by Soyuz 11 on Salyut 1 in 1971.

The post Space Rocket History #410 – Skylab – Skylab 2 – Days 24-28 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“Houston, Skylab. I’d like you to be the first to know that the PLT is the proud father of a genuine flare.” Joe Kerwin

The post Space Rocket History #409 – Skylab – Skylab 2 – Days 8-23 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

NASA’s first priority was to get Skylab back into solar inertial attitude.  This was both the coolest attitude and would point the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) solar arrays directly at the sun. Thus the crew would have the most electrical … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #408 – Skylab – Skylab 2 – Days 2-7 & 10th Anniversary Celebration first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

During the stand up EVA, Kerwin held Weitz while he pulled at the debris several times which disturbed the stability of the Skylab station and caused the Skylabs gyros to compensate. This was a big problem because it nearly pulled … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #407 – Skylab – “We Can Fix Anything” first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

At 07:00 hours Houston time, Skylab 2 roared off its Milk Stool from LC-39B; the first Saturn IB launch in almost five years and only the second launch from Pad 39B.

The post Space Rocket History #406 – Skylab – The Launch of Skylab 2 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Nasa concluded that the failure of the micrometeoroid shield 63 seconds into the flight caused the breaking of the solar array system. Furthermore, at 593 seconds into the flight the second stage retro rocket plume exhaust resulted in the ripping … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #405 – Skylab – What Went Wrong and How Do We Fix It? first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.