Skylab

space exploration · astronauts · NASA · 1970s

America's first station. Skylab was launched by NASA in May 1973 and became the United States' very first space station orbiting Earth. It was a huge breakthrough for space exploration because astronauts could finally live and work in space for weeks at a time.

Three brave crews. Nine astronauts total flew to Skylab in three separate missions called Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Each crew of three spent several weeks aboard the station doing experiments and learning how humans could survive in space.

Six months in orbit. Skylab stayed in orbit and had astronauts living inside it for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. During that time, the crews conducted important science experiments that helped us understand how to explore space.

Home in the sky. Skylab was big enough for astronauts to move around, sleep, eat, and work inside. It was like a tiny space house where people could actually live, not just visit for a few hours like in earlier spacecraft.

Scientific laboratory. The astronauts performed many experiments aboard Skylab to study how the human body reacts to weightlessness and to observe Earth and the sun from space. These discoveries helped prepare NASA for building bigger and better space stations in the future.