Skylab 2 (also SL-2 and SLM-1) was the first crewed mission to Skylab, the first American orbital space station. The mission was launched on an Apollo command and service module by a Saturn IB rocket on May 25, 1973, and carried NASA astronauts Pete Conrad, Joseph P. Kerwin, Paul J. Weitz to the station. The name Skylab 2 also refers to the vehicle used for that mission. The Skylab 2 mission established a twenty-eight-day record for human spaceflight duration. Its crew was the first space station occupants ever to return safely to Earth – the only previous space station occupants, the crew of the 1971 Soyuz 11 mission that had crewed the Salyut 1 station for twenty-four days, died upon reentry due to unexpected cabin depressurization.
Skylab, seen from the departing Skylab 2 spacecraft | |
| Mission type | Crewed mission to Skylab |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1973-032A |
| SATCAT no. | 06655 |
| Mission duration | 28 days, 49 minutes, 49 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 18,500,000 km (11,500,000 mi; 10,000,000 nmi) |
| Orbits completed | 404 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Apollo CSM-116 |
| Manufacturer | North American Rockwell |
| Launch mass | 19,979 kg (44,046 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 3 |
| Members |
|
| EVAs | 3 |
| EVA duration | 5 hours, 41 minutes |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 13:00, May 25, 1973 (UTC) |
| Rocket | Saturn IB SA-206 |
| Launch site | Kennedy, LC-39B |
| End of mission | |
| Recovered by | USS Ticonderoga |
| Landing date | 13:49:48, June 22, 1973 (UTC) |
| Landing site | 24°45′N 127°2′W / 24.750°N 127.033°W |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 428 km (266 mi; 231 nmi) |
| Apogee altitude | 438 km (272 mi; 237 nmi) |
| Inclination | 50° |
| Period | 93.2 minutes |
| Epoch | June 4, 1973 |
| Docking with Skylab | |
| Docking port | Forward |
| Docking date | May 26, 1973, 09:56 UTC |
| Undocking date | May 26, 1973, 10:45 UTC |
| Time docked | 49 minutes |
| Docking with Skylab | |
| Docking port | Forward |
| Docking date | May 26, 1973, 15:50 UTC |
| Undocking date | June 22, 1973, 08:58 UTC |
| Time docked | 26 days, 11 hours, 2 minutes |
Mission patch. Due to a NASA management error, crewed Skylab mission patches were designed in conflict with the official mission numbering scheme. From left: Kerwin, Conrad and Weitz Skylab program | |
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.
Crew
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr. Fourth and last spaceflight | |
| Science Pilot | Joseph P. Kerwin Only spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Paul J. Weitz First spaceflight | |
| Kerwin became the first medical doctor in space. NASA chose a doctor as the first Skylab scientist to better understand the effect of spaceflight on the human body during a long-duration mission. | ||
Backup crew
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Russell L. Schweickart | |
| Science Pilot | F. Story Musgrave | |
| Pilot | Bruce McCandless II | |
Support crew
- Robert L. Crippen
- Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr
- William E. Thornton
- Richard H. Truly
Mission parameters
- Mass: 19,979 kg
- Maximum altitude: 440 km
- Distance: 18,536,730.9 km
- Launch vehicle: Saturn IB SA-206
- Spacecraft: Apollo CSM-116
- Perigee: 428 km
- Apogee: 438 km
- Inclination: 50°
- Period: 93.2 min
- Soft dock: May 26, 1973 – 09:56 UTC
- Undocked: May 26, 1973 – 10:45 UTC
- Time docked: 49 minutes
- Hard dock: May 26, 1973 – 15:50 UTC
- Undocked: June 22, 1973 – 08:58 UTC
- Time docked: 26 days, 17 hours, 2 minutes
Space walks
- Weitz — EVA 1 (stand up EVA — CM side hatch)
- Start: May 26, 1973, 00:40 UTC
- End: May 26, 01:20 UTC
- Duration: 40 minutes
- Conrad and Kerwin — EVA 2
- Start: June 7, 1973, 15:15 UTC
- End: June 7, 18:40 UTC
- Duration: 3 hours, 25 minutes
- Conrad and Weitz — EVA 3
- Start: June 19, 1973, 10:55 UTC
- End: June 19, 12:31 UTC
- Duration: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Mission highlights
| Mission |
Spacecraft locationThe Skylab 2 command module is displayed at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida. Different for earlier Apollo modules, Skylab ones had white paint on the sunward side to help with spacecraft thermal management. See also |
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