International Flight nº: 46 |
Earth orbit Flight nº: 44 |
USA launch Flight nº: 28 |
Launch, orbit & landing data:
| Designation | 06655 / 73032A |
| Launch date - time | 25 May 1973 - 13:00:00 UT |
| Launch site | KSC, LC39B |
| Launch vehicle |
Saturn 1B (SA-206) |
| Payload | Apollo CSM 116 |
| Size (m) | 10.36 long - 3.91 dia |
| Mass (kg) | 13794 |
| Call Sign | Skylab |
| Backup crew | McCandless, Musgrave, Schweickart |
| Orbital parameters on 25 May: |
| - Perigee / Apogee | 156 / 359 km |
| - Inclination | 50.04° |
| - Period | 89.59 min |
| Landing date - time | 22 Jun 1973 - 13:49:48 UT |
| Landing location | 25° N, 127° W
1330 km southwest of San Diego in Pacific Ocean |
| Flight Duration (d:hr:min) | 28:00:50 |
| Nbr orbits | 404 |
| EVA Duration | |
|
|
 |
 Skylab flyaround |
Flight Crew:
| Nr. |
Surname |
Given name |
Job |
Duration |
Orbits |
| 1 |
Conrad |
Charles, Jr. "Pete" |
CDR |
28d 00h 50m |
404 |
| 2 |
Kerwin |
Joseph Peter |
PLT |
28d 00h 50m |
404 |
| 3 |
Weitz |
Paul Joseph |
PLT |
28d 00h 50m |
404 |
Flight:
Summary: First crew of the Skylab-Spacestation;
"rescue-mission" for space station, which had been damaged at its launch;
EVA`s: Weitz at 25.05.1973 (0h 35m), Conrad and Kerwin at 07.06.1973 (3h
23m), Conrad and Weitz at 19.06.1973 (1h 36m); substantial repairs,
including deployment of a parasol sunshade, which colled the inside
temperature; recovery of film cassettes; solar astronomy and Earth
resources experiments and medical studies; one more EVA.
 |
Saturn V Skylab - Credit: NASA. |
Epic repair mission which brought Skylab into working order. Included such great moments as Conrad being
flung through space by the whiplash after heaving on the solar wing just as the debris constraining it gave way;
deployment of a lightweight solar shield, developed in Houston in one week, which brought the temperatures down to
tolerable levels. With this flight US again took manned spaceflight duration record.
 |
View of Pad B, Launch Complex 39 showing Skylab 2 space vehicle during CDDT - Credit: NASA. |
The Skylab space station was launched May 14, 1973, from the NASA Kennedy Space Center by a huge Saturn V launch vehicle, the moon rocket of the Apollo Space Program. Sixty-three seconds after liftoff, the meteoroid shield--designed also to shade Skylab's workshop--deployed inadvertently. It was torn from the space station by atmospheric drag. This event and its effects started a ten-day period in which Skylab was beset with problems that had to be conquered before the space station would be safe and habitable for the three manned periods of its planned eight-month mission.
 |
Rendezvous and Fly Around Inspection of Skylab I Orbital Space Station - Credit: NASA. |
When the meteoroid shield ripped loose, it disturbed the mounting of workshop solar array "wing" two and caused it
to partially deploy. The exhaust plume of the second stage retro-rockets impacted the partially deployed solar array
and literally blew it into space. Also, a strap of debris from the meteoroid shield overlapped solar array "wing"
number one such that when the programmed deployment signal occurred, wing number one was held in a slightly opened
position where it was able to generate virtually no power.
 |
Rendezvous and Fly Around Inspection of Skylab I Orbital Space Station - Credit: NASA. |
In the meantime, the space station had achieved a near-circular orbit at the desired altitude of 435 kilometers
(270 miles). All other major functions including payload shroud jettison, deployment of the Apollo Telescope Mount
(Skylab's solar observatory) and its solar arrays, and pressurization of the space station occurred as planned.
 |
View of crewmen performing EVA taken from inside OWS - Credit: NASA. |
Scientists, engineers, astronauts, and management personnel at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and elsewhere
worked throughout the first ten-day period of Skylab's flight to devise the means for its rescue. Simultaneously,
Skylab--seriously overheating--was maneuvered through varying nose-up attitudes that would best maintain an
acceptable "holding" condition. Because of the loss of the meteoroid shield, however, this positioning caused
workshop temperatures to rise to 52 degrees Celsius (126 degrees F). During that ten-day period and for some time
thereafter, the space station operated on less than half of its designed electrical system, in the partially nose-up
attitudes, was generating power at reduced efficiency. The optimum condition that maintained the most favorable
balance between Skylab temperatures and its power generation capability occurred at approximately 50 degrees nose-up.
 |
Close-up view of partially deployed, damaged solar array - Credit: NASA. |
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 2 Crewmember During EVA to Repair and Deploy Damaged Solar Panel - Credit: NASA. |
Skylab-2 MANHOUR UTILIZATION
MEDICAL ACTIVITIES 145.3 HOURS 7.5 PERCENT
SOLAR OBSERVATIONS 117.2 " 6.0 "
EARTH RESOURCES 71.4 " 3.7 "
OTHER EXPERIMENTS 65.4 " 3.4 "
SLEEP, REST & OFF
DUTY 675.6 " 34.7 "
PRE/POST SLEEP &
EATING 477.1 " 24.5 "
HOUSEKEEPING 103.6 " 5.3 "
PHYSICAL TRAINING
& PERSONAL HYGIENE 56.2 " 2.9 "
OTHER (EVA) ETC 232.5 " 12.0 "
TOTAL: 1944.3 " 100 "
 |
Skylab 2 Farewell View from the Departing Skylab
Command/Service Module - Credit: NASA. |
