JumpStart - Space Science
Skylab

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The Legacy Of Skylab

For today’s students, the Skylab project 30 years ago is a part of history that took place long before they were born. However, though long gone, Skylab is still very much an important and relevant part of space exploration. It laid substantial groundwork for future space ventures. In many ways, much of its potential is just now being realized with the International Space Station (ISS). “I think most people would recognize Skylab as the world’s first space station, or at least the U.S.’s first space station,” said Owen Garriott, a member of the second Skylab crew.

“Overall, the greatest accomplishment of Skylab was that it was the basis for a modern space station,” first crew astronaut Joe Kerwin said. Much of the research and technology that makes the ISS possible was still just theory prior to launch of Skylab. “We demonstrated the science effectively,” he said, adding that Skylab also proved that astronauts could conduct valuable research in orbit. Third crew Skylab resident Jerry Carr agreed. “I think the greatest achievement is that we pretty much proved that the human body can stay weightless for a very long time,” Carr told NASAexplores. “This was our first opportunity to go up and settle in.” He said that the Skylab crews also helped develop countermeasures to help astronauts better endure long-duration flights. “I don’t see any reason we couldn’t go to Mars without artificial gravity,” he said.

For Garriott, the greatest accomplishment of participating in Skylab was taking part in the groundbreaking scientific research. He said he enjoyed “the opportunity to assist solar investigators right at the front of their discipline, and the same thing is true for physiology.” He said that due to the extremely meticulous evaluation and recording, some of the Skylab medical data is still the definitive research on effects of spaceflight exposure. “It’s been 30 years, and in many ways it hasn’t been superceded yet,” he said. Participating in Skylab’s scientific mission was also a thrill for Carr. “We were just gathering information where no other information had ever been gathered,” he said. “Most of the stuff done by the Russians (on the effects of spaceflight exposure) until then was pretty much anecdotal in nature.”

Garriott even has another point of reference for his perspective on Skylab as an orbital science laboratory. Ten years after his Skylab mission, he returned to space a second time on a 10-day Space Shuttle mission. During that flight, he worked on the Spacelab orbital science module carried in the Shuttle’s cargo pay. “Skylab, in a way, was more interesting” due to the longer duration of the mission, he said. “Spacelab, in its way, was a remarkable laboratory also.” The changes in technology also made a big difference, he said. “With Skylab, 30 years ago, you were just beginning to get into automated systems,” he said. “Spacelab had moved well beyond it.” (However, he noted, in terms of computer capability, neither station would compare to a modern home computer.)

When asked about the modern successor to the Skylab program, Garriott said that he believes the ISS could have a great future. “It’s got great potential, but not with only two people onboard. We’re still waiting expectantly for the potential to be realized.” He said that he believes the ISS could be a very productive scientific facility once the crew size is increased.

Kerwin said that he believes the U.S. should have launched another space station more like Skylab before moving on to ISS. “I think it’s too big,” he said. Kerwin added, however, that he believes the current Space Station is a “magnificent achievement,” and that its construction so far has been remarkable.

Carr said that he and fellow third-crew astronaut Pogue were actually involved in the development of what became ISS for 13 years, and were able to share their experiences during the design planning. “It looks to me like it’s a good system,” he said. Carr agreed with Garriott that ISS has the potential to yield great scientific results if “we keep people moving through that thing.” He said he believes that increasing the size of the ISS crew is one of the greatest priorities in realizing its potential.

The ISS still has a long future, and NASA and its international partners are working to make sure that ISS does realize its full potential. And, when it does, it will owe much of that success to another space station, which orbited the Earth 30 years ago—Skylab.

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URL: http://www.nasaexplores.com/show2_article2.php?id=03-063