Skylab was the United States' first space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three trios of astronaut crews: 展开

Rocket engineer Wernher von Braun, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, and other early advocates of crewed space travel, expected until the 1960s that a space station would be an … 展开

Completion and launch
On August 8, 1969, the McDonnell Douglas Corporation received a contract for the conversion of two existing S-IVB stages to the Orbital … 展开

Skylab had certain features to protect vulnerable technology from radiation. The window was vulnerable to darkening, and this darkening could affect … 展开

As of 2024, Skylab was the only space station operated exclusively by the United States. A permanent station was planned starting in 1988, but its funding was canceled and U.S. participation shifted to the International Space Station in 1993.
Skylab had a mass of … 展开

Apollo Applications Program
NASA management was concerned about losing the 400,000 workers involved in Apollo after landing on the Moon in 1969. A reason von Braun, head of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center during the 1960s, advocated a … 展开

Prior to departure about 80 experiments were named, although they are also described as "almost 300 separate investigations".
Experiments were divided into six broad categories:
• Life … 展开