posted 05-06-2013 03:02 PM               

NASA to Mark 40th Anniversary of Skylab and Life Off Earth

NASA will commemorate the 40th anniversary of America's first space station Monday, May 13, with a televised roundtable discussion featuring Skylab astronauts, a current astronaut and space agency managers planning future space missions.

The discussion, open to NASA employees and the public, will begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT) in the James Webb Auditorium of NASA Headquarters at 300 E St. SW in Washington. The event will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Participants will include:

• Owen Garriott, science pilot, Skylab 3
  
• Gerald Carr, commander, Skylab 4
  
• Kevin Ford, commander, International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 34
  
• D. Marshall Porterfield, director, Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications Division, NASA Headquarters
  
• Jason Crusan, director, Advanced Exploration Systems, NASA Headquarters

NASA launched NASA launched Skylab on May 14, 1973. It was the nation's first foray into significant scientific research in microgravity. The three Skylab crews proved humans could live and work effectively for long durations in space.

The knowledge gathered during Skylab helped inform development and construction of the International Space Station, just as the research and technology demonstrations being conducted aboard the ISS will help shape a new set of missions that will take Americans farther into the solar system.

posted 05-14-2013 09:11 AM               

Skylab, space station astronauts reflect on 40 years of life off Earth

Before the International Space Station existed, before U.S. astronauts shared space on Russia's space station Mir, America's first home in Earth orbit was Skylab.

The converted upper stage of a massive Saturn V moon rocket, Skylab was launched 40 years ago Tuesday (May 14). The orbital workshop gave NASA its first experience at establishing a long-duration human presence in space, laying the foundation for American astronauts to take up continuous residency almost three decades later on board the International Space Station (ISS).

On Monday (May 13), NASA commemorated four decades of "life off Earth" and the 40th anniversary of the Skylab workshop's launch during a roundtable discussion held at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The event featured Skylab and ISS astronauts, as well as agency managers who are helping to plan the United States' future outposts in space.

posted 05-14-2013 05:40 PM               

On a personal note, I was a high school junior in May 1973, and was so thrilled to witness the AS-513 launch from the Kennedy Space Center's main VIP site. It was such an exciting day for this young avid space enthusiast, and with another Skylab/Saturn launch with the first manned crew to live and work aboard America's first space station, less than two weeks away!

Looking back over the decades, Skylab--in all its aspects--has served us well as a true orbiting research facility that enabled our astronauts to carry out a wide spectrum of scientific, engineering, astronomical, biomedical and earth studies.