The three manned Skylab Space Station missions during 1973-74 were all American "first of a kind" spaceflights. Until that time, our longest flight in zero-gravity had been 14 days. Skylab's three missions would extend that duration successively to about one, two, and three months. They would become "stepping stones" to longer duration missions ultimately required for extended flights to the Moon and onward to Mars. I flew on the second manned mission, Skylab II(3), with Alan Bean and Owen Garriott during July 28 - September 25, 1973.
The Apollo flights to the Moon had been successful so quickly that the last three Apollo Moon landings were cancelled, resulting in left-over parts and well-trained astronauts for the Skylab missions. The third stage (S-IVB) of the Saturn V Moon rocket was configured with living and working quarters for three astronauts per mission. It was launched, unmanned, into a 275-mile high Earth orbit by a Saturn V rocket and then visited by crews flying three remaining Apollo Command and Service Modules launched on Saturn-IB rockets. The Skylab was basically a temporary "prototype" to provide knowledge for constructing and inhabiting a future permanent space station.
The primary scientific objectives of the Skylab missions were to study the Sun, the Earth's resources, and the medical aspects of long duration missions. There were other experiments in astronomy, materials processing, space science, etc.; a total of about 60 experiments. Another overarching mission objective concerned how to live, work, move, and stabilize, often referred to as "habitability", in a spacecraft much larger than a capsule for longer durations, that is, eating, sleeping, hygiene, managing waste, medical emergencies, equipment repairs, and everything else needed to design, build, and inhabit the permanent International Space Station (ISS) now in orbit about the 'Good Earth'. After a few days in space, we were able to complete tasks far more efficiently than planned during training. With the "extra time", our request for more work was granted and additional tasks were uplinked. Thus, at the end of the flight, we were credited with accomplishing 150% of our mission objectives!
Each Skylab mission included at least three spacewalks of 4-6 hours duration primarily to replace and service the solar telescopes and to repair the space station externally. Until Skylab, spacewalking in zero-gravity had proven difficult or limited to relatively simple tasks. Among the often overlooked Skylab contributions were the development of zero-gravity spacewalking procedures and techniques used later in Space Shuttle operations and in assembly and maintenance of the future International Space Station (ISS).
Skylab II - Twin-Pole Sunshade
Skylab top side showing very clearly with the Twin-Pole Sunshade. Erection of this sunshade over the temporary, gold-colored Parasol/Umbrella deployed by the first crew was crucial to the continuation of the Skylab missions. The Parasol was considered temporary due to probable deterioration and flimsy nature of the material. I deployed the 24 x 24-foot sunshade during an EVA by standing at its base, fastening the two "flagpoles" in a baseplate, attaching the sunshade (originally white) to ropes on the poles, and "running the flag up the poles". The latter was not without some difficulty as the shade was hurriedly fabricated using an adhesive. The shade was folded like an accordion and stuffed in a duffle bag I would later secure between my feet. While 'running the shade up the poles', the accordion folds stuck together because, in haste to develop the 'fix' before the first crew launched, the shade was folded and packed before the adhesive was cured. So, I had to retract the shade and, while it billowed all around me, manually 'unstick' the folds and redeploy the shade. Owen Garriott was positioned near the airlock hatch, and he constructed the poles end-to-end; eleven five-foot segments per pole. He would shove the poles up to me as he fitted them end-to-end. Finally, I had two long, whippy 'fishing poles with ropes' 55 feet long to place in the baseplate. The shade turned brown in the sun, but it shows one white crease that I missed in the 'unsticking' exercise, so it was less exposed, and the sun 'unstuck' it later.
The "ultimate adventure" in Earth-orbit is to do a spacewalk! I did two of them. Views of the Earth and celestial sphere from inside the space station are limited to small segments seen through a small window. When exiting the spacecraft, the perception is three-dimensional, now enabling one to sense the great speed over the ground and to see the entire, round ball of the Earth about 1,200 miles in all directions. Yet, there is no vibration, no sound, nothing "flapping in the breeze"; it's just like gliding along on a magic carpet whirling around the world, into the sunrise and into the sunset, every hour and a half. From the 275-mile altitude, it was possible to see freeways, cities, rivers, and lakes with the naked eye, as well as the colors of the Earth; the blues of the oceans, green and brown patchwork of farmers' fields, white of the clouds and snow on the mountains, and the beautifully colored deserts, painted just the way the Master Painter painted them so long ago in colors appearing with more contrast from that high altitude than when seeing them from ground level. The memories of spacewalking days set them apart from all of the other more routine days aboard the Skylab Space Station.
After the Apollo flights to the Moon, the Skylab missions were considered by many to be anticlimactic, and to others, Skylab's contributions to space science and America's spaceflight future were dismissive. Yet, they became a necessary element in planning and executing much of the nation's quest for excellence and dominance in the international space arena. While there was some personal disappointment in having missed an opportunity to walk on the Moon, the second Skylab mission accomplished several "firsts", challenged us with many "unknowns", and was still "record setting" in its day. We traveled about 24.5 million miles and circled the Good Earth 858 times during two months in orbit. The experience was challenging and rewarding in terms of stimulating my pioneering instincts, doing what had not been done, and taking the unknown steps necessary to establish America's footing for future flights that would be longer in duration and distance. Moreover, Skylab II(3) prepared me for my next spaceflight assignments as Backup Pilot for the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission with the Soviet Union in 1975 and to command the Third Orbital Flight Test of Space Shuttle Columbia in 1982.
Following this record-setting mission, the Skylab II flight crew was honored with several awards: --- Robert J. Collier Trophy --- Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy --- AAIA Octave Chanute Award --- AAS Achievement Award --- City of Chicago Gold Medal --- Federation Aeronautique Internationale's V. M. Komarov Diploma. Further, I also received the following personal awards: --- Navy Distinguished Service Medal --- NASA Distinguished Medal --- Marine Corps Association's Exceptional Achievement Award.
