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Remembering Skylab

Posted by michael on from the don't-look-up dept.

linuxwrangler writes "It was 30 years ago today that NASA launched Skylab, the first US space station. An article at New York Times remembers Skylab. It was hardly a flawless launch with a meteroid shield getting ripped loose causing one of the solar arrays to partially deploy and then be blown into space by the exhaust from a retro-rocket but the speed and effectiveness of the astronauts' repairs showed human's ability to operate in space and helped pave the way for today's projects. Skylab reentered on July 11, 1979 leaving a debris field across parts of Western Australia and the Indian Ocean."

4 of 30 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Oops, make that 30 years. by darksaber · · Score: 2, Interesting

    hmmm, insert obligatory "make this guy an editor since he notices, admits mistakes, and posts corrections" comment here?

    have fun at work linuxwrangler - if only mistake quotas worked that way :)

  2. Someone needs coffee... by dasunt · · Score: 2, Interesting

    How was Skylab launched 20 years ago, and reentered 25 years ago?

    Ah, I see that the magical slashdot gnomes just changed '20' to '30' on the front page.

  3. I remember the crash. by torpor · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm from Perth, and remember staying up all night to try and catch a glimpse of Skylab as it came crashing down.

    The next day there were news reports on big chunks that had landed all over the place. Nobody was hurt if I remember correctly, but it was funny to see one picture of a typical Aussie wheatbelt'er, standing next to a big ball of shredded super hight tech O2 tank in the middle of his paddock.

    That really was the beginning of my personal "Space Love Era", heh heh ... Skylab, you piece of shit you! Why didn't you stay up!!!

    --
    ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
    1. Re:I remember the crash. by bananahammock · · Score: 1, Interesting

      What was really cool, was this girl at my primary school in Perth who brought along a piece of insulation from Skylab to our class. It looked a little bit like straw (in colour at least), but the fact it was from a space vehicle made it seem priceless to a bunch of young whippersnappers. Also some of the farmers in the wheatbelt said the very small particles falling that night sounded, not surprisingly, like hail against their tin roofing. I also remember seeing that same farmer next to a huge chunk of Skylab, around a tonne or so, which they somehow loaded onto a trailer behind their car. I wonder where it is now.