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Photo: NASA / Public domain
Skylab

America's first space station, wounded at launch

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Skylab was NASA's first space station, built from Apollo hardware and launched on the last Saturn V on 14 May 1973. It lost its meteoroid shield and a solar array during the climb, was repaired in orbit by its first crew, hosted three crews for 171 days in all, and fell to Earth over Western Australia on 11 July 1979.
8 video perspectives
- Skylab: Repairing America’s First Space Station and Its 1979 Fall
  
  The History Guy recounts Skylab, America's first manned space station, built from the second stage of a Saturn V and launched on May 14, 1973.
  
  Published 12 Jul 2017
- Skylab 1973: Repairing the Workshop and Living in Weightlessness
  
  A NASA documentary on Skylab, which launched on May 14, 1973.
  
  Published 25 Sep 2017
- How Skylab Was Saved: The Stuck Solar Array and Chance Tools
  
  A documentary on how Skylab was damaged during its Saturn V launch, when a heat shield was torn away and one solar array was left stuck.
  
  Published 18 Apr 2020
- Skylab’s 1979 Reentry: How Debris Ended Up Across Western Australia
  
  ABC television and radio coverage from July 1979 follows Skylab's return to Earth.
  
  Published 30 May 2020
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