Skylab, the United States' first space station, was manned from May 25, 1973 to February 8, 1974 by three separate astronaut crews. Experiments were performed to enrich our knowledge of Earth, Sun, stars and cosmic space; to study the effects of long periods of weightlessness on living organisms (including humans); to develop space processing and manufacturing techniques. Experiments were also performed to develop methods and equipment for observing and monitoring Earth, to aid in solving problems of pollution, erosion, crop failure, storm destruction, and mineral deletion.
Skylab reentered Earth's atmosphere July 11, 1979. During reentry Skylab disintegrated, spraying debris over parts of Australia. One of the largest pieces recovered in on display here at the U. S. Space and Rocket Center. Guest are invited to see and walk through the Skylab located inside the museum.
Built for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
Contractors:
McDonnell Douglas Corporation
(Orbital Workshop and Air Lock Module)
Martin Marietta Corporation (Multiple Docking Adapter)
Marshall Space Flight Center (Apollo Telescope Mount) Ball Brothers Research Corporation, Bendix, Honeywell, and Perkin-Elmer designed and manufactured the ATM science instrumentation.
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