Author
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Topic: Skylab 4: The NASA Mission Reports (CGP)
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cspg Member Posts: 6210 From: Geneva, Switzerland Registered: May 2006
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posted 11-18-2016 02:50 PM
Skylab 4: The NASA Mission Reports by Dwight Steven Boniecki By the end of 1973 the United States’ was firmly entrenched in its long-term space station program. The Skylab Orbital Workshop had managed to survive its birthing pains and had already successfully carried two crews in low earth orbit when Apollo astronauts Gerald Carr, William Pogue and Ed Gibson strapped themselves atop one of the remaining Saturn IB super boosters.Destined to be the second-to-last crew to fly in the remarkable Apollo spacecraft the three men would spend an unprecedented 84 days in space. Although none of them had any previous spaceflight experience they had all trained for many years in hopes of a trip to the moon, only to find themselves slated to set new long-duration records for spaceflight. Over almost three months Carr, Pogue and Gibson conducted an inordinate amount of experiments inside the cavernous Skylab space station. They studied the sun in ways never before achieved, monitoring solar flares and coronal mass ejections from our home star. They also began the first real work of earth observation. The crew of Skylab 4 proved that it was possible for humans to live in space for extended periods without too many adverse effects. They worked out the first stringent space exercise regimens to help them to maintain their health and they conducted multiple spacewalks. Without a doubt, the crew of Skylab 4 pioneered the way forward in space station research and their efforts would light the path for the International Space Station. In Skylab 4 The NASA Mission Reports you will find the remarkable details of NASA’s final early space station experiment through the original documents published at the time of the mission, including the mission debriefing telling the story in the crew’s own words. Included with this book is a DVD featuring launch video of the Skylab 4 mission, rare audio of the re-entry of Skylab with a Skylab slideshow, Skylab 4 Status Report, Skylab 4 Inflight Press Conference, The Legacy of Skylab and more! |
jjknap Member Posts: 273 From: Bourbonnais, IL USA Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 11-18-2016 05:25 PM
Horrah! Been waiting for the final volume. |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 11-20-2016 12:38 PM
In my humble opinion it is the best of the lot! Another little known fact is that this book now completes the Skylab series of Mission Reports. Keep in mind that the Apogee publications spare no expense in finding the best possible quality diagrams, graphs and photographs. Where high resolution versions could not be located, alot of work went into making the available images as good as they could be. Several videos have been made highlighting the extreme difference in quality between the photocopied downlaodable versions you can get online, and the sparkling versions presented in the Apogee books versions. These videos can be seen on my Facebook page. Here is a quick comparison. On the left is the NASA downloadable image, on the right is Apogee's version. |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-06-2016 10:59 AM
Here is the big happy family. All just waiting to make your library just that little bit more complete. |
LM-12 Member Posts: 3207 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 12-06-2016 12:35 PM
Minor point: the Skylab image seen on the "Skylab 1 & 2" cover is a Skylab 4 photo. |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-06-2016 04:21 PM
Yes. Some of the best SL-2 imagery on first fly-around was the TV feed, which did not lend itself to an effective resolution for the cover. I wish they had HD video back then. Rest assured the content inside the book pertains only to SL-1 and SL-2, as one would expect it would. Makes the old saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" take on a whole new meaning. |
LM-12 Member Posts: 3207 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 12-07-2016 02:12 PM
Departure photo SL2-X7-615 is probably the best Skylab 2 image I have seen that shows the whole station. |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-07-2016 03:37 PM
That is a nice one which was on the short-list. I personally would have loved to use the approach TV imagery, but it really came up bad quality-wise as I only had a 16mm kinescope, and as robust a format as it is, it really suffers when enlarged.The most incredible thing I came to realize in putting the anomaly report together was just how close the OWS came to exploding. It was a matter of seconds. There is film I have discovered which will be included in my upcoming film about Skylab, which clearly shows the rocket plume looking very unusual. The SL-2 crew were a cut above in how they rescued the ailing station. I can easily see why Pete Conrad felt this was his most satisfying spaceflight. I was also very impressed with the post-anomaly investigation into the cause of the meteoroid shield problem. Management par excellence. |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-08-2016 01:17 PM
While we are on the topic of all things Skylab, Live TV From Orbit covers all aspects of TV development fom Skylab, through ASTP and ending with the Shuttle. A must-have for anyone interested in life beyond Apollo. |
Blackarrow Member Posts: 3118 From: Belfast, United Kingdom Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 12-08-2016 04:27 PM
I wholeheartedly agree: it makes a great matched-pair with "Live TV From the Moon." |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-11-2016 03:14 PM
One striking observation those who read the SL-4 debrief will make is how the crew was very much a transition-state crew. Their debrief, based on the 84 days they spent in space, is definitely tailored to the shuttle-crews. That is, non-test pilot crews. The SL-4 team clearly saw how spaceflight would rely more and more on scientist passengers and this is very much reflected in the recommendations and criticisms they made following their flight. |
Rick Mulheirn Member Posts: 4167 From: England Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 12-11-2016 03:20 PM
I presume this we be available through Amazon UK in due course? The current exchange rate coupled with import fees and handling charges make buying anything from the US these days prohibitively expensive. |
jjknap Member Posts: 273 From: Bourbonnais, IL USA Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 12-11-2016 04:08 PM
I think you can order from Canada. I ordered mine last week. Hope it makes it to me soon. |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-11-2016 07:40 PM
Rick, they should be on Amazon.co.uk and also I certainly will have a few copies but not until February. Another really cool aspect of the SL-4 Mission Reports is that Ed Gibson wrote the introduction adding a nice personal aspect to the mission reports. |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-18-2016 11:31 AM
On the subject of Ed Gibson, I cannot thank the gentleman highly enough. Not only did he write the outstanding foreword to the Mission Reports Skylab 4 book, he also went out of his way to send special greetings to the Ashford Astronomical Society's keen members. The material was highly inspirational and complemented the talk I gave on Skylab at the meeting. It is little surprise that SL-4 is my personal favourite of the Skylab Missions (no offense to the other excellent crews of SL-2 and SL-3). |
jjknap Member Posts: 273 From: Bourbonnais, IL USA Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 12-18-2016 12:30 PM
I seem to remember some negative comments about the Skylab 4 mission. It was an all "rookie" crew, and the books I have read certainly pointed out that fact as well as the feud with Mission Control. I am looking forward to your book. I had to order from the publisher, so I may not receive it for a while. |
cspg Member Posts: 6210 From: Geneva, Switzerland Registered: May 2006
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posted 12-18-2016 12:57 PM
quote: Originally posted by Dwight: I certainly will have a few copies but not until February.
Book ordered from the website — will it ship from Europe (you) in February? I always used Amazon in the past — thought I give the website a try. |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-18-2016 01:40 PM
I will get several copies, but as I am in Australia, I won't get them until I return to Germany until February. It just doesn't make sense to have them shipped to Australia, as they are heavy. quote: Originally posted by jjknap: I seem to remember some negative comments about the Skylab 4 mission.
The crew debrief is very interesting to read. It sheds a lot of light into the problems (and triumphs) experienced on SL-4. The two part debrief is included in full in the Mission Reports. |
astroborg Member Posts: 200 From: Woodbridge, VA, USA Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 12-19-2016 09:07 AM
These books dovetail with the Outward Odyssey series book "Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story", by David Hitt. I have it and enjoyed reading David's details. All good stuff on Skylab!!! |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-19-2016 01:16 PM
David Hitt is a good friend and extremely helpful in his assistance to researching Skylab. Homesteading Space is the Bible for Skylab. David Shayler's Skylab book is the other bible. |
DavidH Member Posts: 1217 From: Huntsville, AL, USA Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 12-21-2016 08:19 AM
One of the hardest parts of writing a book like Homesteading is that even at its relatively long length, you're still having to cherrypick what actually gets included. I absolutely love that Dwight has put these volumes together so that this additional wealth of information (and video) is available in an accessible form. This are such a valuable work to have been put together.------------------ Homesteading Space | Bold They Rise | davidhitt.net |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-21-2016 11:19 AM
David, you are spot on with your appraisal. Believe it or not, there are alot of things I would have loved to include in each of the three books, but because of space considertaions, was unable to. Don't even get me started on the decision-making required for what goes on the DVDs and what doesn't. |
mooneagle New Member Posts: 5 From: Registered: Apr 2014
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posted 12-23-2016 07:34 AM
I ordered each of the Skylab Mission Reports and I have to agree with David Hitt's assessment. These books are invaluable as a reference to each of the missions. Trying to find material on Skylab is not easy, and these tomes place all the necessary info at your finger tips. I can't thank Dwight and Apogee Books enough for having the foresight to get these out there. |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-23-2016 09:08 AM
Thank you so much for you comments. It is reading comments like yours that inspires me to keep making these books. As you probably gathered from reading the books you have, they are not simply "reprints" of the downloadable PDF files. There is a concerted effort to locate the best quality photographs and diagrams to make the books look as good (if not better) than the original document. The University of Houston Clear Lake has been instrumental in tracking down some of the hard-to-find material. Additionally they were paramount in finding the pages of missing text which is all too evident in the NASA PDF files. The Apogee books also include the press kits, debriefs and DVDs filled with goodies that enhance the reading experience. Finding the near-intact audio tape of the 1979 re-entry was a crucial element which capped off the Skylab series. I cannot thank Larry Turoski enough. |
mooneagle New Member Posts: 5 From: Registered: Apr 2014
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posted 12-25-2016 08:31 AM
I was very lucky to receive my copy of the Skylab 4 Mission Report just in time for Christmas and I must say it looks outstanding!I am amazed at how good the photographs and diagrams look. The DVD is just a joy to watch. The audio/slide-show of the re-entry as heard in Mission Control is beautiful. On top of that I will have some great reading material over the holidays. |
Dwight Member Posts: 576 From: Germany Registered: Dec 2003
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posted 12-26-2016 09:18 AM
I am glad you like the DVD. A lot of hard choices were made as to what to include. I personally found the audio from re-entry in 1979 to be the most hard hitting moment of the whole Skylab story. |
mooneagle New Member Posts: 5 From: Registered: Apr 2014
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posted 12-28-2016 04:40 PM
My word. The crew debrief is probably the biggest surprise of the whole book. Outstanding! One or two places in there I also laughed out loud!! |