Skylab 4

Third crewed mission to Skylab

Skylab 4

The final view of Skylab, from the departing mission 4 crew

Operator| NASA
COSPAR ID| 1973-090A
SATCAT no.| 6936
Mission duration| 84 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes, 30 seconds
Distance travelled| 55,500,000 km (34,500,000 mi)
Orbits completed| 1214
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft| Apollo CSM-118
Manufacturer| North American Rockwell
Launch mass| 20,847 kg (45,960 lb)
Crew
Crew size| 3
Members|

* Gerald P. Carr
* Edward G. Gibson
* William R. Pogue

EVAs| 4
Start of mission
Launch date| November 16, 1973, 14:01:23 (1973-11-16UTC14:01:23Z) UTC
Rocket| Saturn IB SA-208
Launch site| Kennedy LC-39B
End of mission
Recovered by| USS New Orleans
Landing date| February 8, 1974, 15:16:53 (1974-02-08UTC15:16:54Z) UTC
Landing site| 31°18′N 119°48′W﻿ / ﻿31.300°N 119.800°W﻿ / 31.300; -119.800
Orbital parameters
Reference system| Geocentric
Regime| Low Earth
Perigee altitude| 422 km (262 mi)
Apogee altitude| 437 km (272 mi)
Inclination| 50.04 degrees
Period| 93.11 minutes
Epoch| January 21, 1974[1]
Docking with Skylab
Docking port| Forward
Docking date| November 16, 1973, 21:55:00 UTC
Undocking date| February 8, 1974, 02:33:12 UTC
Time docked| 83 days, 4 hours, 38 minutes, 12 seconds

Due to a NASA management error, crewed Skylab mission patches were designed in conflict with the official mission numbering scheme.

Left to right: Carr, Gibson and Pogue

Skylab program

<- Skylab 3

Skylab 4 (also SL-4 and SLM-3[2]) was the third crewed Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew aboard the first American space station.

The mission began on November 16, 1973, with the launch of Gerald P. Carr, Edward Gibson, and William R. Pogue in an Apollo command and service module on a Saturn IB rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida,[3] and lasted 84 days, one hour and 16 minutes. A total of 6,051 astronaut-utilization hours were tallied by the Skylab 4 astronauts performing scientific experiments in the areas of medical activities, solar observations, Earth resources, observation of the Comet Kohoutek and other experiments.

The crewed Skylab missions were officially designated Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Miscommunication about the numbering resulted in the mission emblems reading "Skylab I", "Skylab II", and "Skylab 3" respectively.[2][4]

## Launch

[edit]

The Skylab 4 Saturn 1B space vehicle is launched from Pad B, Launch Complex 39.

NASA's launch center was located in an area called Cape Kennedy since November 28, 1963.[5] Cape Kennedy was restored to its former name of Cape Canaveral officially on October 9, 1973.[6][7] The Saturn V launch facilities at LC-39A and LC-39B were still located at the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island.[6] The Skylab 4 mission was the first crewed launch since the area changed its name back to Cape Canaveral;[8] it launched from the Kennedy Space Center's LC-39B pad on November 16, 1973.[9]

## Crew

[edit]

Position | Astronaut

|

Commander  | Gerald P. Carr
Only spaceflight
Science Pilot  | Edward G. Gibson
Only spaceflight
Pilot  | William R. Pogue
Only spaceflight

With three rookies, Skylab 4 was the largest all-rookie crew launched by NASA. Following the all rookie Mercury program, there were only four all-rookie NASA flights – Gemini 4, Gemini 7, Gemini 8, and Skylab 4.

### Backup crew

[edit]

Position | Astronaut

|

Commander  | Vance D. Brand
Science Pilot  | William Lenoir
Pilot  | Don L. Lind

### Support crew

[edit]

* Robert L. Crippen
* Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr
* Bruce McCandless II
* F. Story Musgrave
* Russell L. Schweickart
* William E. Thornton
* Richard H. Truly

## Mission parameters

[edit]

Days in Space  Mission  |

|

Skylab 2 |

Skylab 3 |

Skylab 4  |

* Mass: 20,847 kg (45,960 lb)
* Maximum altitude: 440 km (273 mi) (November 16, 1973)
* Total distance traveled: 34.5 million miles (55,500,000 km)
* Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB SA-208
* Spacecraft: Apollo CSM-118
* Epoch: January 21, 1974
* Perigee: 422 km (262 mi)
* Apogee: 437 km (272 mi)
* Inclination: 50.04°
* Period: 93.11 min

### Docking

[edit]

* Docked: November 16, 1973 – 21:55:00 UTC
* Undocked: February 8, 1974 – 02:33:12 UTC
* Time Docked: 83 days, 4 hours, 38 minutes, 12 seconds

### Space walks

[edit]

Gibson and Pogue – EVA 1
Start: November 22, 1973, 17:42 UTC
End: November 23, 00:15 UTC
Duration: 6 hours, 33 minutes
Carr and Pogue – EVA 2
Start: December 25, 1973, 16:00 UTC
End: December 25, 23:01 UTC
Duration: 7 hours, 01 minute
Carr and Gibson – EVA 3
Start: December 29, 1973, 17:00 UTC
End: December 29, 20:29 UTC
Duration: 3 hours, 29 minutes
Carr and Gibson – EVA 4
Start: February 3, 1974, 15:19 UTC
End: February 3, 20:38 UTC
Duration: 5 hours, 19 minutes

## Mission highlights

[edit]

One of the dummies left behind by the Skylab 3 crew to be found by the Skylab 4 crew Bill Pogue (left) and Gerald Carr pass trash through an airlock to Skylab's waste disposal tank. False color image of Comet Kohoutek photographed with the far-ultraviolet electrographic camera during a Skylab spacewalk on December 25, 1973 Solar prominence photographed December 19, 1973, by the Apollo Telescope Mount

The all-rookie astronaut crew arrived aboard Skylab to find three figures dressed in flight suits. Upon closer inspection, they found they were dummies with Skylab 4 mission emblems and name tags which had been left there by Al Bean, Jack Lousma, and Owen Garriott at the end of Skylab 3.[10]

Things got off to a bad start after the crew attempted to hide Pogue's early space sickness from flight surgeons, a fact discovered by mission controllers after downloading onboard voice recordings. Astronaut office chief Alan B. Shepard reprimanded them for this omission, saying they "had made a fairly serious error in judgement."[11]

The crew had problems adjusting to the same workload level as their predecessors when activating the workshop. The crew's initial task of unloading and stowing the thousands of items needed for their lengthy mission also proved to be overwhelming.[12] The schedule for the activation sequence dictated lengthy work periods with a large variety of tasks to be performed, and the crew soon found themselves tired and behind schedule.

Seven days into their mission, a problem developed in the Skylab gyroscopic attitude control system, which threatened to bring an early end to the mission. Skylab depended upon three large gyroscopes, sized so that any two of them could provide sufficient control and maneuver Skylab as desired. The third acted as a backup in the event of failure of one of the others.[13] The gyroscope failure was attributed to insufficient lubrication. Later in the mission, a second gyroscope showed similar problems,[14][15] but special temperature control and load reduction procedures kept the second one operating, and no further problems occurred.

On Thanksgiving Day, Gibson and Pogue accomplished a 61⁄2 hour spacewalk. The first part of their spacewalk was spent deploying experiments and replacing film in the solar observatory. The remainder of the time was used to repair a malfunctioning antenna. During the experience, Gibson remarked, "Boy if this isn't the great outdoors! Inside, you're just looking out through a window. Here, you're right in it."[16] The crew reported that the food was good, but slightly bland. The quantity and type of food consumed was rigidly controlled because of their strict diet. Although the crew would have preferred to use more condiments to enhance the taste of the food, and the amount of salt they could use was restricted for medical purposes, by the third mission the NASA kitchen had increased the availability of condiments, and salt and pepper were in liquid solutions (granular salt and pepper brought aboard by the second crew was little more than "air pollution").[17]

On December 13, the crew sighted Comet Kohoutek and trained the solar observatory and hand-held cameras on it. They gathered spectra on it using the Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph.[18] They continued to photograph it as it approached the Sun. On December 30, as it swept out from behind the Sun, Carr and Gibson spotted it as they were performing a spacewalk.

As Skylab work progressed, the astronauts complained of being pushed too hard, and ground controllers complained they were not getting enough work done. NASA determined major contributing factors were a large number of new tasks added shortly before launch with little or no training, and searches for equipment out of place on the station.[19][20][21] There was a radio conference to air frustrations[22] which led to the workload schedule being modified, and by the end of their mission the crew had completed more work than originally planned.

Skylab 4 involved several scientific observations. The crew spent many hours studying the Earth. Carr and Pogue alternately crewed controls, operating the sensing devices which measured and photographed selected features on the Earth's surface. Gibson and the other crew made solar observations, recording about 75,000 new telescopic images of the Sun. Images were taken in the X-ray, ultraviolet, and visible portions of the spectrum.[19][23]

As the end of their mission drew closer, Gibson continued his watch of the solar surface. On January 21, 1974, an active region on the Sun's surface formed a bright spot which intensified and grew.[19] Gibson quickly began filming the sequence as the bright spot erupted. This film was the first recording from space of the birth of a solar flare.

The crew also photographed the Earth from orbit. Despite instructions not to do so, the crew (perhaps inadvertently) photographed Area 51, causing a minor dispute between various government agencies as to whether the photographs showing this secret facility should be released. In the end, the picture was published along with all others in NASA's Skylab image archive, but remained unnoticed for years.[24]

The Skylab 4 astronauts completed 1,214 Earth orbits and four EVAs totaling 22 hours, 13 minutes. They traveled 34.5 million miles (55,500,000 km) in 84 days, 1 hour and 16 minutes in space. Skylab 4 was the last Skylab mission; the station fell from orbit in 1979.

The three astronauts had joined NASA in the mid-1960s, during the Apollo program, with Pogue and Carr becoming part of the likely crew for the cancelled Apollo 19. Ultimately none of the crew of Skylab 4 flew in space again, as none of the three were selected for Apollo–Soyuz and all of them retired from NASA before the first Space Shuttle launch. Gibson, who had trained as a scientist-astronaut, resigned from NASA in December 1974 to do research on Skylab solar physics data, as a senior staff scientist with The Aerospace Corporation of Los Angeles, California.

## Communications break

[edit]

An unplanned communications break occurred during the Skylab 4 mission: its crew did not communicate with mission control for the portion of one orbit during which Skylab had line of sight to its tracking stations.[25] Before the midpoint of the mission, the Skylab 4 crew had started to become fatigued and behind on the work. In order to catch up, they decided that only one crew member needed to be present for the daily briefing instead of all three, allowing the other two to complete ongoing tasks.[26] At one point, according to both Carr and Gibson, the crew forgot to turn their radios on for the daily briefing, leading to a lack of communications between the crew and ground control during that orbit's period of communications availability. By the next planned period, the crew had reaffirmed radio contact with ground control.[26][27] Both Carr and Gibson stated that this event partially contributed to a discussion on December 30, 1973, in which the crew and ground control capsule communicator Richard H. Truly revisited the astronauts' schedule in light of their fatigue. Carr called this meeting "the first sensitivity session in space".[26][27] NASA agreed to assign the crew a more relaxed schedule, and productivity for the remaining mission significantly increased, surpassing that of the prior Skylab 3 mission.[28]

### Consequences

[edit]

Performance lapses for time in bed (TIB) over 14 days of sleep restriction[29]

NASA spent time studying the causes and effects of the unintentional lack of communications to avoid its replication in future missions.[30] At the time, only the crew of Skylab 3 had spent six weeks in space. It was unknown what had happened psychologically. NASA carefully worked with crew's requests, reducing their workload for the next six weeks. The incident took NASA into an unknown realm of concern in the selection of astronauts, still a question as humanity considers human missions to Mars or returning to the Moon.[31] Among the complicating factors was the interplay between management and subordinates. On Skylab 4, one problem was that the crew was pushed even harder as they fell behind on their workload, creating an increasing level of stress.[32] Even though none of the astronauts returned to space, there was only one more NASA spaceflight in the decade and Skylab was the first and last American space station.[33] NASA was planning larger space stations but its budget shrank considerably after the Moon landings, and the Skylab orbital workshop was the only major execution of Apollo Applications projects.[33]

The final Skylab mission became known for the incident, and also known for the large amount of work that was accomplished in the long mission.[34] Skylab orbited for six more years before its orbit decayed in 1979 due to solar activity that was higher than expected.[30] The next crewed U.S. spaceflights were the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in July 1975, then the first Space Shuttle orbital flight STS-1 in April 1981.

The event, which the involved astronauts have joked about,[35] has been a case study in various fields of endeavor including space medicine, team management, and psychology. According to Space Safety Magazine, the incident affected the planning of future space missions, especially long-term missions.[34]

The described events were considered a significant example of "us versus them" syndrome in space medicine.[36] Crew psychology has been a point of study for Mars analog missions such as Mars-500, with a particular focus on crew behavior triggering a mission failure or other issues.[36] One of the impacts of the incident is the requirement that at least one member of the International Space Station crew be a space veteran (not be on a first flight).[37]

The 84-day stay of the Skylab 4 mission was a human spaceflight record that was not exceeded for over two decades by a NASA astronaut.[38] The 96-day Soviet Salyut 6 EO-1 mission broke Skylab 4's record in 1978.[39][40]

### In the media

[edit]

The communications failure has been interpreted by the media as a deliberate act[28][35][41] and became known as the Skylab strike or Skylab mutiny. One of the first accounts reporting that a strike aboard Skylab had occurred was published in The New Yorker on August 22, 1976, by Henry S. F. Cooper, who claimed that the crew were alleged to have stopped working on December 28, 1973.[42][28] Cooper also published similar claims in his book A House in Space that same year.[28] The Harvard Business School published a 1980 report, "Strike in Space", also claiming that the astronauts had gone on strike, but without citing any sources.[28]

NASA, the astronauts involved, and spaceflight historians have stated that no strike occurred. NASA has suggested the events of December 28 may have been confused with a day off that was given to the crew on December 26 following the completion of a long spacewalk by Carr and Pogue the day before.[26][28] NASA added that there may also have been confusion with a known ground equipment failure on December 25; this left them unable to track Skylab for one orbit, but the crew were notified of this issue ahead of time.[28] Both Carr and Gibson have stated that it was a series of misjudgments and not the crew's intent that caused them to miss the briefing.[26][27][43] Spaceflight history author David Hitt also disputed that the crew deliberately ended contact with mission control, in a book written with former astronauts Owen K. Garriott and Joseph P. Kerwin.[44]

## Gallery

[edit]

* Commander Gerald Carr flies a Manned Maneuvering Unit prototype.

* Carr "balances" Bill Pogue as a demonstration of zero-G.

* Ed Gibson floats out of the Multiple Docking Adapter connecting the station to the crew's Command Module.

* Carr and Gibson look through the length of the station from the trash airlock.

* Carr floats with limbs outstretched to show the effects of zero-G.

* The Pogue Seiko, a 'Seiko Automatic-Chronograph' Cal. 6139, the first automatic chronograph in space, used by Bill Pogue[45][46]

* Gibson at the controls of the Apollo Telescope Mount

* Dr. Lubos Kohoutek, discoverer of the Comet Kohoutek, speaks to the Skylab 4 crew via radio-telephone in the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center during a visit to JSC.

* Gibson during an EVA

## Command Module legacy

[edit]

The Skylab 4 command module on display at the National Air and Space Museum

The Skylab 4 command module was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum in 1975.[47] This module is the Command and Service Modules CSM-118 and it spent 84 days in Earth orbit as part of the Skylab mission.[48]

The module rolled upside down after splashdown, which happened in about half the Apollo CSM splashdowns; in this situation spheres were inflated on top of the CSM to right the module.[49]

The windows of the Skylab 3 and 4 spacecraft modules were studied for micrometeoroid impacts.[50]

The module was painted white on half its side to help with spacecraft thermal management.[51] Whereas Block II Apollo CSM had Kapton coated with aluminium and silicon monoxide, later Skylab modules had white paint for the sunward side.[51]

The Skylab 4 Command Module held the record for the longest single spaceflight for an American spacecraft for nearly 50 years until it was broken by Crew Dragon Resilience flying the SpaceX Crew-1 mission on February 7, 2021. To commemorate the event, the four person crew of Crew-1 spoke live with Edward Gibson from the International Space Station.[52]

As of September 2020 the capsule is on display at the Oklahoma History Center.[48][53]

## Mission insignia

[edit]

The triangular emblem features a large number 3 and a rainbow circling three areas of study the astronauts pursued. At the time of the flight, the astronauts issued the following description:

"The symbols in the patch refer to the three major areas of investigation in the mission. The tree represents man's natural environment and refers to the objective of advancing the study of earth resources. The hydrogen atom, as the basic building block of the universe, represents man's exploration of the physical world, his application of knowledge, and his development of technology. Since the sun is composed primarily of hydrogen, the hydrogen symbol also refers to the Solar Physics mission objectives. The human silhouette represents mankind and the human capacity to direct technology with a wisdom tempered by his regard for his natural environment. It also relates to the Skylab medical studies of man himself. The rainbow, adopted from the Biblical story of the Flood, symbolizes the promise that is offered to man. It embraces man and extends to the tree and hydrogen atom, emphasizing man's pivotal role in the conciliation of technology with nature by a humanistic application of our scientific knowledge."

Some versions of the patch included a comet in the top curve because of studies made of the comet Kohoutek.

## See also

[edit]

* Spaceflight portal

* Extra-vehicular activity
* List of spacewalks
* Splashdown (spacecraft landing)
* Timeline of longest spaceflights
* Psychological and sociological effects of spaceflight
* Team composition and cohesion in spaceflight missions
* Effects of sleep deprivation in space

## References

[edit]

1. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Pages. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
2. ^ a b "Skylab Numbering Fiasco". Living in Space. William Pogue Official WebSite. 2007. Archived from the original on February 2, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
3. ^ "'Three happy rookies' off on longest space voyage". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 16, 1973. p. 1A.
4. ^ Pogue, William. "Naming Spacecraft: Confusion Reigns". collectSPACE. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
5. ^ "It's Cape Kennedy now". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). Associated Press. November 29, 1963. p. 1.
6. ^ a b Lethbridge, Clifford J. Spaceline.org "Cape History". Spaceline.org. Retrieved on March 23, 2011.
7. ^ "Cape Kennedy is now Cape Canaveral". Lakeland Ledger. (Florida). (Washington Post). October 10, 1973. p. 8A.
8. ^ "Skylab astronauts set for 9:01 launch today". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). November 16, 1973. p. 1A.
9. ^ "Third Skylab crew fired aloft". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 16, 1973. p. 1.
10. ^ "Photo-sl3-113-1587". spaceflight.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on May 8, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
11. ^ Wilford, John Noble (November 18, 1973). "Skylab Astronauts Are Reprimanded In 1st Day Aboard". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
12. ^ "Astronauts Try to Make Up Time". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 19, 1973. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
13. ^ "A Skylab Gyroscope Fails, Leaving Only 2 for Control". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 24, 1973. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
14. ^ "Gyro on Skylab Is Erratic; Officials Are Not Alarmed". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 8, 1973. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
15. ^ "Skylab Gyroscope Falters, Puzzling Ground Engineers". The New York Times. United Press International. January 4, 1974. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
16. ^ "Two Astronauts fix Skylab Antenna". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 23, 1973. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
17. ^ Erling, John (2013) Interview with William Pogue Archived May 31, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Voices of Oklahoma. p. 33.
18. ^ Lundquist, C. A. (January 1979). "SP-404 Skylab's Astronomy and Space Sciences". Archived from the original on November 13, 2004. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
19. ^ a b c Canby, Thomas (October 1974). "Skylab, Outpost on the Frontier of Space". National Geographic Magazine. 146: 441–493.441-493&rft.date=1974-10&rft.aulast=Canby&rft.aufirst=Thomas&rft_id=https://archive.nationalgeographic.com/?iid=54304#folio=468&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Skylab+4" class="Z3988">: 468
20. ^ "Lethargy of Skylab 3 Crew Is Studied". The New York Times. Reuters. December 12, 1973. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
21. ^ "Skylab Crew Takes Day Off for Rest". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 25, 1973. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
22. ^ "Astronauts Debate Work Schedules With Controllers". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 31, 1973. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
23. ^ Edward G. Gibson Biographical Data. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
24. ^ Secret Apollo. The Space Review. November 26, 2007
25. ^ Broad, William J. (July 16, 1997). "On Edge in Outer Space? It Has Happened Before". The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
26. ^ a b c d e Brewer, Kirstie (March 20, 2021). "Skylab: The myth of the mutiny in space". BBC. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
27. ^ a b c Rusnak, Kevin (October 25, 2000). Oral History Transcript - Gerald Carr (PDF) (Report). NASA Johnson Space Center. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
28. ^ a b c d e f g Uri, John (November 16, 2020). "The Real Story of the Skylab 4 "Strike" in Space". NASA. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
29. ^ Van Dongen, HP; Maislin, G; Mullington, JM; Dinges, DF (2003). "The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: Dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation". Sleep. 26 (2): 117–26\. doi:10.1093/sleep/26.2.117. PMID 12683469.117-26&rft.date=2003&rft_id=info:doi/10.1093/sleep/26.2.117&rft_id=info:pmid/12683469&rft.aulast=Van+Dongen&rft.aufirst=HP&rft.au=Maislin,+G&rft.au=Mullington,+JM&rft.au=Dinges,+DF&rft_id=https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fsleep%2F26.2.117&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Skylab+4" class="Z3988">
30. ^ a b "Skylab: First U.S. Space Station". Space.com. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
31. ^ DNews (April 16, 2012). "Why 'Space Madness' Fears Haunted NASA's Past". Seeker – Science. World. Exploration. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
32. ^ "Skylab: America's First Home in Space Launched 40 Years Ago Today". WIRED. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
33. ^ a b "Skylab: Everything You Need to Know". www.armaghplanet.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
34. ^ a b "All the King's Horses: The Final Mission to Skylab (Part 3)". Space Safety Magazine. December 5, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
35. ^ a b Vitello, Paul (March 10, 2014). "William Pogue, Astronaut Who Staged a Strike in Space, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
36. ^ a b Clément, Gilles (July 15, 2011). Fundamentals of Space Medicine. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4419-9905-4.
37. ^ Gilles Clément (2011). Fundamentals of Space Medicine. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 255\. ISBN 978-1-4419-9905-4.
38. ^ Harding, Kiesha (2006). Elert, Glenn (ed.). "Duration of the longest space flight". The Physics Factbook. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
39. ^ Pike, John. "Soyuz 26 and Soyuz 27". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
40. ^ Hollingham, Richard (December 21, 2015). "How the most expensive structure in the world was built". BBC.
41. ^ Hiltzik, Michael. "The day when three NASA astronauts staged a strike in space". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
42. ^ Cooper, Henry S. F. (August 30, 1976). "Life in a Space Station". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
43. ^ Butler, Carol (December 1, 2000). "Oral History Transcript - Edward G. Gibson". NASA Johnson Space Center. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
44. ^ Hitt, David (2008). Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803219014. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
45. ^ William Pogue's Seiko 6139 Watch Flown on Board the Skylab 4 Mission, from his Personal Collection... The First Automatic Chronograph to be Worn in Space. Heritage Auctions
46. ^ The "Colonel Pogue" Seiko 6139. dreamchrono.com.
47. ^ Skylab 4 Command Module Archived May 19, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. U.S. National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved on August 5, 2020.
48. ^ a b "Command Module, Skylab 4". collectSPACE. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
49. ^ "Upside-Down Astronauts". NASA. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
50. ^ Cour-Palais, B. G. (March 1979). Results of the examination of the Skylab/Apollo windows for micrometeoroid impacts. 10th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Vol. 2\. Houston, Texas. p. 1665\. Bibcode:1979LPSC...10.1665C.
51. ^ a b "Making The Command Module's Heat Shield". Spaceflight Blunders & Greatness. March 4, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
52. ^ "US crewed spacecraft flight duration record - collectSPACE: Messages".
53. ^ "Skylab 4 capsule to land in new exhibit at Oklahoma History Center -collectSPACE".

## Further reading

[edit]

* Gilles Clement, Fundamentals of Space Medicine, Microcosm Press, 2003. pp. 212.
* Lattimer, Dick (1985). All We Did was Fly to the Moon. Whispering Eagle Press. ISBN 0-9611228-0-3.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Skylab 4.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Skylab 4.

* Skylab: Command service module systems handbook, CSM 116 – 119 (PDF) April 1972
* Skylab Saturn 1B flight manual (PDF) September 1972
* NASA Skylab Chronology
* Marshall Space Flight Center Skylab Summary
* Skylab 4 Characteristics SP-4012 NASA HISTORICAL DATA BOOK
* Astronauts and Area 51: the Skylab Incident
* Skylab, "The Third Manned Period", NASA History (History.nasa.gov )
* Voices of Oklahoma interview with William Pogue. First person interview conducted with William Pogue on August 8, 2012. Original audio and transcript archived with Voices of Oklahoma oral history project.

* v
* t
* e

Skylab

Flights|

* Skylab 1 (uncrewed)
* Skylab 2
* Skylab 3
* Skylab 4

Astronauts|

| Skylab 2|

* Pete Conrad (Commander)
* Joseph Kerwin (Science Pilot)
* Paul Weitz (Pilot)

|

Skylab 3|

* Alan Bean (Commander)
* Owen Garriott (Science Pilot)
* Jack Lousma (Pilot)

Skylab 4|

* Gerald Carr (Commander)
* Edward Gibson (Science Pilot)
* William Pogue (Pilot)

Contingencies|

* Skylab B
* Teleoperator Retrieval System
* Skylab Rescue (not flown)
* Skylab 5

Skylab Rescue|

* Vance D. Brand (Commander)
* Don L. Lind (Pilot)

People|

* William C. Schneider (Program director)
* Jack Kinzler (Parasol fix designer)
* Raymond Loewy (Habitability consultant)

Related|

* Apollo Applications Program
* Apollo command and service module
* Apollo/Skylab spacesuit
* Beta cloth
* Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment
* Apollo Telescope Mount
* Crawler-transporter
* Manned Space Flight Network
* Skylab 4 human factors
* Skylab Medical Experiment Altitude Test (SMEAT)
* Wet workshop
* Searching for Skylab (2019 documentary)

* v
* t
* e

Apollo program

* List of missions
* canceled missions
* List of Apollo astronauts

Launch complexes|

* Launch Complex 34
* Launch Complex 37
* Launch Complex 39
* A
* B

Ground facilities|

* Mission Control Center
* Cape Kennedy Air Force Station
* Crawler-transporter
* Kennedy Space Center
* Manned Space Flight Network

Launch vehicles|

* Little Joe II
* Saturn
* Saturn I
* Saturn IB
* Saturn V

Spacecraft and rover|

* Apollo spacecraft
* Command and Service Module
* Lunar Module
* Lunar Roving Vehicle

Flights|

| Uncrewed|

* AS-101
* AS-102
* AS-201
* AS-202
* Apollo 4
* Apollo 5
* Apollo 6†

|

Crewed|

* Apollo 1†
* Apollo 7
* Apollo 8
* Apollo 9
* Apollo 10
* Apollo 11
* Apollo 12
* Apollo 13†
* Apollo 14
* Apollo 15
* Apollo 16
* Apollo 17

Saturn
development|

* Saturn-Apollo 1
* SA-2
* SA-3
* SA-4
* SA-5
* AS-203
* Apollo 4
* Apollo 6†

Abort tests|

* QTV
* Pad Abort Test-1
* A-001
* A-002
* A-003
* Pad Abort Test-2
* A-004

Pegasus flights|

* AS-103
* AS-104
* AS-105

Apollo 8 specific|

* Earthrise
* Genesis reading

Apollo 11 specific|

* Command Module Columbia
* Lunar Module Eagle
* Tranquility Base
* Double crater
* Little West crater
* Goodwill messages
* Lunar sample displays
* Missing tapes
* Anniversaries
* 50th Anniversary commemorative coins
* In popular culture

Apollo 12 specific|

* Statio Cognitum
* Surveyor 3
* Surveyor crater
* Bench Crater meteorite
* J002E3
* Moon Museum
* Reports of Streptococcus mitis on the Moon

Apollo 13 specific|

* "Houston, we've had a problem"

Apollo 14 specific|

* Modular Equipment Transporter
* Fra Mauro formation
* Big Bertha
* Moon tree

Apollo 15 specific|

* Journey
* Lunar operations
* Solo operations
* Return to Earth
* Hadley–Apennine
* Fallen Astronaut
* Genesis Rock
* Great Scott
* Hadley Rille meteorite
* Seatbelt basalt
* Postal covers incident

Apollo 16 specific|

* Big Muley

Apollo 17 specific|

* The Blue Marble
* Taurus–Littrow
* Tracy's Rock
* Nansen-Apollo crater
* Shorty crater
* Lunar sample display
* Lunar basalt 70017
* Troctolite 76535
* Apollo Lunar Sounder Experiment
* Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, and Phooey

Post-Apollo
capsule use|

* Skylab
* 2
* 3
* 4
* Apollo–Soyuz

Related|

* Lunar orbit rendezvous
* Stolen and missing Moon rocks
* Third-party evidence for Apollo Moon landings

* Symbol † indicates failure or partial failure

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← 1972

Orbital launches in 1973

1974 →

* Luna 21 (Lunokhod 2)* Kosmos 543
* Kosmos 544
* Kosmos 545
* Kosmos 546
* Kosmos 547
* Molniya-1 No.31
* Kosmos 548
* Prognoz 3
* Kosmos 549
* Kosmos 550
* Kosmos 551
* OPS 6063
* OPS 8410
* Meteor-M No.29
* Kosmos 552
* Nauka-16KS No.2L
* Salyut 2
* Molniya-2-5
* Pioneer 11
* Kosmos 553
* Kosmos 554
* Interkosmos 9
* Anik A2
* Unnamed
* Kosmos 555
* Nauka-14KS No.2
* Kosmos 556
* Kosmos 557
* Skylab
* OPS 2093
* Kosmos 558
* Kosmos 559
* Unnamed
* Kosmos 560
* Unnamed
* Skylab 2
* Kosmos 561
* Nauka-9KS No.1
* Meteor-M No.27
* Kosmos 562
* Kosmos 563
* Kosmos 564
* Kosmos 565
* Kosmos 566
* Kosmos 567
* Kosmos 568
* Kosmos 569
* Kosmos 570
* Kosmos 571
* Kosmos 572
* Explorer 49
* OPS 6157
* Kosmos 573
* Kosmos 574
* Kosmos 575
* OPS 4018
* Kosmos 576
* Unnamed
* Molniya-2-6
* OPS 8261
* ITOS-E
* Mars 4
* Kosmos 577
* Mars 5
* Skylab 3
* Kosmos 578
* Mars 6
* Mars 7
* OPS 8364
* Kosmos 579
* OPS 7724
* Kosmos 580
* Intelsat IV F-7
* Kosmos 581
* Kosmos 582
* Molniya-1-24
* Kosmos 583
* Kosmos 584
* Kosmos 585
* Kosmos 586
* Unnamed
* Kosmos 587
* Soyuz 12
* OPS 6275
* Kosmos 588
* Kosmos 589
* Kosmos 590
* Kosmos 591
* Kosmos 592
* Kosmos 593
* Kosmos 594
* Kosmos 595
* Kosmos 596
* Kosmos 597
* Kosmos 598
* Kosmos 599
* Kosmos 600
* Kosmos 601
* Molniya-2-7
* Kosmos 602
* Explorer 50
* Kosmos 603
* Kosmos 604
* Transit-O 20
* Interkosmos 10
* Kosmos 605
* Kosmos 606
* Mariner 10
* NOAA-3
* Kosmos 607
* OPS 6630
* OPS 6630/2
* OPS 7705
* Molniya-1 No.32
* Skylab 4
* Kosmos 608
* Kosmos 609
* Kosmos 610
* Kosmos 611
* Kosmos 612
* Kosmos 613
* Molniya-1-26
* Kosmos 614
* Kosmos 615
* OPS 9433
* OPS 9434
* Explorer 51
* Kosmos 616
* Soyuz 13
* Kosmos 617
* Kosmos 618
* Kosmos 619
* Kosmos 620
* Kosmos 621
* Kosmos 622
* Kosmos 623
* Kosmos 624
* Kosmos 625
* Molniya-2-8
* Oreol 2
* Kosmos 626
* Kosmos 627

Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets).

* v
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NASA

Policy and history|

| History
(creation)|

* NACA (1915)
* National Aeronautics and Space Act (1958)
* Space Task Group (1958)
* Paine (1986)
* Rogers (1986)
* Ride (1987)
* Space Exploration Initiative (1989)
* Augustine (1990)
* U.S. National Space Policy (1996)
* CFUSAI (2002)
* CAIB (2003)
* Vision for Space Exploration (2004)
* Aldridge (2004)
* Augustine (2009)

|

General|

* Space Race
* Administrator and Deputy Administrator
* Chief Scientist
* Astronaut Corps
* Ranks and positions
* Chief
* Budget
* NASA research
* spinoff technologies
* NASA+
* NASA TV
* NASA Social
* Launch Services Program
* Mercury Control Center
* Manned Space Flight Network
* Kennedy Space Center
* Vehicle Assembly Building
* Launch Complex 39
* Launch Complex 48
* Launch Control Center
* Operations and Checkout Building
* Johnson Space Center
* Mission Control
* Lunar Sample Laboratory
* Science Mission Directorate

Human spaceflight
programs|

| Past|

* X-15 (suborbital)
* Mercury
* Gemini
* Apollo
* Skylab
* Apollo–Soyuz (with the Soviet space program)
* Space Shuttle
* Shuttle–Mir (with Roscosmos)
* Constellation

|

Current|

* International Space Station
* Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
* Commercial Crew
* Orion
* Artemis
* Lunar Gateway

Robotic programs|

| Past|

* Hitchhiker
* Mariner
* Mariner Mark II
* MESUR
* Mars Surveyor '98
* New Millennium
* Lunar Orbiter
* Pioneer
* Planetary Observer
* Ranger
* Surveyor
* Viking
* Project Prometheus
* Mars Exploration
* Mars Exploration Rover

|

Current|

* Living With a Star
* Lunar Precursor Robotic Program
* Earth Observing System
* Great Observatories program
* Explorers
* Voyager
* Discovery
* New Frontiers
* Solar Terrestrial Probes
* Commercial Lunar Payload Services
* SIMPLEx

Individual featured
missions
(human and robotic)|

| Past|

* Apollo 11
* COBE
* Mercury 3
* Mercury-Atlas 6
* Magellan
* Pioneer 10
* Pioneer 11
* Galileo
* timeline
* GALEX
* GRAIL
* WMAP
* Space Shuttle
* Spitzer Space Telescope
* Sojourner rover
* Spirit rover
* LADEE
* MESSENGER
* Aquarius
* Cassini
* Dawn
* Kepler space telescope
* Opportunity rover
* timeline
* observed
* RHESSI
* InSight
* Ingenuity helicopter
* flights

|

Currently
operating|

* Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
* 2001 Mars Odyssey
* New Horizons
* International Space Station
* Hubble Space Telescope
* Swift
* THEMIS
* Mars Exploration Rover
* Curiosity rover
* timeline
* GOES 14
* Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
* GOES 15
* Van Allen Probes
* Solar Dynamics Observatory
* Juno
* Mars Science Laboratory
* timeline
* NuSTAR
* Voyager 1
* Voyager 2
* WISE
* MAVEN
* MMS
* OSIRIS-REx
* Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
* Mars 2020
* Perseverance rover
* timeline
* James Webb Space Telescope
* timeline
* PACE
* Europa Clipper

Future|

* NISAR
* Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
* DAVINCI
* VERITAS

Communications
and navigation|

* Near Earth Network
* Space Network
* Deep Space Network (Goldstone
* Madrid
* Canberra
* Space Flight Operations Facility)
* Deep Space Atomic Clock

NASA lists|

* Astronauts
* by name
* by year
* Gemini astronauts
* Apollo astronauts
* Space Shuttle crews
* NASA aircraft
* NASA missions
* uncrewed missions
* Apollo missions
* Space Shuttle missions
* United States rockets
* NASA cancellations
* NASA cameras on spacecraft

NASA images
and artwork|

* Earthrise
* The Blue Marble
* Family Portrait
* Pale Blue Dot
* Pillars of Creation
* Mystic Mountain
* Solar System Family Portrait
* The Day the Earth Smiled
* Fallen Astronaut
* Deep fields
* Lunar plaques
* Pioneer plaques
* Voyager Golden Record
* Apollo 11 goodwill messages
* NASA insignia
* Gemini and Apollo medallions
* Mission patches
* Hubble Space Telescope anniversary images

Related|

* "We choose to go to the Moon"
* Apollo 8 Genesis reading
* Apollo 15 postal covers incident
* Apollo Lunar Module
* Space Mirror Memorial
* The Astronaut Monument
* Lunar sample displays
* Moon rocks
* stolen or missing
* U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
* Space program on U.S. stamps
* Apollo 17 Moon mice
* Moon tree
* Other primates in space
* NASA International Space Apps Challenge
* Astronauts Day
* National Astronaut Day
* Nikon NASA F4

* Category
* Commons

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