Astronomy: Skylab

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Skylab 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: Skylab 2, Skyla b 3, and Skylab 4. Skylab was constructed from a repurposed Saturn V third stage (the S-IVB), and took the place of the stage during launch. Why Skylab matters: Every mission and telescope pushes the boundary of what humanity can observe and understand. These instruments are our eyes and hands reaching into the cosmos. Operations included an orbital workshop, a solar observatory, Earth observation and hundreds of experiments. Skylab's orbit eventually decayed and it disintegrated in the atmosphere on July 11, 1979, scattering debris across the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. Deep dive: Skylab Skylab's orbit eventually decayed and it disintegrated in the atmosphere on July 11, 1979, scattering debris across the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Sources: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)