Skylab damage after launch is shown in this image, particularly with the solar array failing to propagate (right).
(Image credit: NASA)
1973: Astronauts undertake challenging spacewalks to repair the damaged NASA Skylab Space Station
NASA’s first space station, called Skylab, was launched into orbit on May 14, 1973. During the launch, it accidentally ruptured the shield of a microscopic meteor and in the process tore apart one solar array and damaged another. Now NASA has a weak, fast-heating space station in orbit that requires a team of aces to fix it.
Apollo 12 veteran Pete Conrad, along with newbies Paul J. Weitz and Joseph B. It took a series of illusory spacewalks to fix the problem, but in the end the crew installed sunscreen, deployed the blocked net, and then began their science mission in real life. Then Skylab welcomed three crews.
The end of the Skylab mission also did not go as planned, as after a series of delays in raising its orbit, the station began to return faster than expected, as activity from the Sun swelled the atmosphere. Parts of the Skylab accidentally rained in Australia and nearby areas on July 11, 1979, but no one was hurt.
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