Orbital station Skylab. What happened to America's first space station

When the Skylab 2 crew departed, a golden solar shield covered the main part of the space station. The solar array at the top was the one deployed during the spacewalk. Four windmill-like solar arrays are attached to an Apollo telescopic array used for solar astronomy.

Before the modern ISS orbital station was in orbit, its place was taken by several Soviet predecessors of the Salyut program. But what happened to the American station and why couldn't it be saved?

First American station in orbit

AT 1973 orbital station skylab(Skylab) was in orbit for the first time. It was an American project for various research in the fields of technology, medicine and biology, as well as for observing the planet.

This is also NASA's first project to study the impact of the space environment on the human body. The scientists wanted to prove that humans are capable of spending extended periods of time in space, studying the stars, solar activity, and the effects of microgravity on living organisms.

Interestingly, NASA never tried to call Skylab a space village. Instead they used " orbital workshop". The fact is that the management hoped to get funding for a larger and more expensive project and did not want the government to consider a cheaper option (Skylab) as an attractive alternative.

What did the station look like?

Compared to the models of the Soviet single-module Salyut station, Skylab was really large-scale. She covered in length near 25 m and almost 7 m in diameter. Another point is interesting. Usually, large structures are launched into orbit in parts, and then assembled into a single whole. But Skylab started off as a solid platform.

On one side was a docking port for two Apollo missions and a telescope. In fact, it was a full-fledged space observatory with equipment for solar imaging in the X-ray and UV ranges.

Missions and life on the station

On May 14, 1973, the Skylab space station takes off from launch pad 39A on a Saturn V rocket.

The station was visited by only three expeditions with three people each (9 astronauts in total). home goal– to study whether a person can adapt to space conditions. In principle, Skylab was spacious inside, so you can move freely and even play. Wire mesh divided the space into a work area and living sections. But not everything is so smooth.

The fact is that even during the launch into orbit, the air flow tore off the meteor shield, grabbing one of the solar panels. Due to damage, the second solar panel also could not turn around. Because of this, the interior of the station began to heat up, and there was not enough power.

It turns out that the astronauts had to spend a lot of time on repair which they did successfully. What about life? If you've never been in space, you'd feel like you're in spartan conditions. But the astronauts after the cramped Apollo literally enjoyed the movements. The station had showers and toilets, real food, and even exercise equipment. AT free time allowed to read and listen to music.

What happened to Skylab?

If everything is so good, then why did the American station receive only 3 missions? scientists dreamed save skylab in orbit and use it in the future for future flights and research. In addition, the Saturn-5 rocket was no longer produced, so there was no way to launch another such a massive structure.

Due to bureaucratic red tape, flights were delayed, and the station gradually began to decline. It was planned to send a special mission to align the structure in orbit. However, funding issues could not be resolved.

The final blow came from space. Solar activity has increased, causing an increase in atmospheric density at Skylab height. As a result, engineers missed the chance gain altitude for the station. Skylab was doomed.

World panic and hunting

Scientist and astronaut Owen Garriott operates the Apollo Telescope from the console of the Skylab space station on the third mission. The main achievement of the program was solar research.

When you know that somewhere in the sky is flying 70 ton design, capable of collapsing on your head, it is difficult to remain calm. Many countries panicked. Moreover, in Europe and Asia, they planned to create special fall protection methods.

It was predicted that the station would fall between the Indian Ocean and Australia, but literally everyone was worried. And then the situation changed and people began to discuss the possibility get piece of station if it crashes to the surface, not into the water. One of the American newspapers offered an award in $10,000. for the first shard found.

P.S

NASA did everything to coordinate the fall of the station just south of Cape Town in South Africa, where it was supposed to collapse into July 1979. However, the destruction process slowed down, due to which some of the debris fell on Australia. Many fragments ended up in museums, and a full-fledged backup of the station can be seen at the National Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Washington).

1973 Astronaut Joseph Kerwin examines Charles Conrad during the first manned Skylab flight.

The American space station Skylab was launched into orbit on May 14, 1973. According to the plans of NASA specialists, it was supposed to be operated for almost a hundred years. However, the Americans flooded this station already in 1979. And the reason for its elimination still remains an unsolved mystery.

Skylab turned out to be one of the most expensive United States programs in the history of space exploration. The cost of the project was about three billion dollars at the prices of that time.
Its orbital unit was created on the basis of the S-4B rocket, which is the third stage of the Saturn-5 launch vehicle. The hydrogen tank of the rocket was converted into a two-story room for a crew of three. The lower floor housed the utility rooms, while the upper floor housed the research laboratory. Together with the main block of the Apollo spacecraft docked to it, the volume of the station was 330 cubic meters.
At the station, stocks of water, food and clothing were prepared in advance for the astronauts of the three planned expeditions. The payload weight of the station was 103 tons.
The first expedition, which set off for the station on May 25, 1973, had to spend most of its time repair work. The crew members went out into outer space three times.
Having worked at the station until June 22, the astronauts undocked from the station, flew around it, and returned to Earth after spending 28 days in space.
The second expedition left for Skylab on July 28 and spent 59 days in orbit.
The third expedition launched on November 16, 1973 and was the longest, having spent 84 days in space. And she was the last on board the expensive station.
The third mission was also famous for the fact that the astronauts for the first time in history met New Year in orbit. Their flight lasted from November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974. Such a busy program of experiments fell to their lot that they had practically no time to rest. When the crew demanded that the program be adjusted to make it easier, the Mission Control Center refused. And then the astronauts - Gerald Carr, William Pogue and Edward Gibson - went on a one-day strike, turning off the radio and indulging in the rest guaranteed by the labor law. However, by the end of the flight, the entire previously planned program was completed.
After the third crew returned to Earth, the station was mothballed. Its further use was supposed to be resumed when the "shuttles" - reusable ships - start flying. With their help, NASA intended to enlarge Skylab by adding several more orbital modules to it and bring the number of research crew members to six. That is, to create a kind of analogue of our Mir station several years before this Soviet station was launched into orbit.

However, Skylab began to lose altitude. To save it by raising the orbit, it was necessary to send an accelerating engine to the station - the station did not have one. But it was an extremely difficult and risky operation, which was eventually abandoned. In this connection, Skylab was signed a death sentence.

In the summer of 1979, as a result of an increase in solar activity, there was a slight increase in the density of the atmosphere in the orbit of the station. Braking has increased. And on July 11, 1979, she entered the dense layers of the atmosphere. Skylab's deorbit was uncontrollable. Its fragments scattered in the Indian Ocean and over the sparsely populated areas of Australia.

1971 orbital station plan

July 1, 1973
Third mission pilot Jack R. Lusma after the vacuum shower

1973
Astronaut Owen Garriott eating

1973
Astronaut Joseph Kerwin blowing soap bubbles

1973
Astronaut Charles Conrad cutting Paul Weitz's hair

1973
Owen Garriott inside a lower body negative pressure device. What is it????

1973
Astronaut Alan Bean reads before bed

Since the late 1950s, the first projects of orbital stations began to appear in the USSR and the USA - spacecraft that would allow people to stay in near-planet orbit for a long time and conduct research there. In the 1960s, the United States, encouraged by the success of the Apollo space program, began serious development of large space stations, which were expected to create a habitable scientific base on the Moon, and in the future even a manned flight to Mars.

The ardor of the Americans was cooled by two important events.

One of them was the Vietnam War, in which the United States intervened in 1965 - it caused significant damage to the country's economy. The second is the completion in 1975 of the Apollo program. The budget allocated for space research was severely cut.

However, after the cancellation of the Apollo lunar expeditions, the super-heavy Saturn-5 rockets, the largest rockets of those years, remained at their disposal. By that time, the designer Wernher von Braun had already developed a project for an orbital station, where it was proposed to use the upper stage of the Saturn-1B rocket as a living space. The station acted in two guises - first it launched itself into orbit as a rocket stage, then the vacated tank of liquid hydrogen was re-equipped, and the stage turned into an orbital station. It was planned to have a docking station, solar panels and other equipment. The more powerful Saturn-5 could put a fully equipped station into orbit, which made the option of retrofitting a hydrogen tank unnecessary.

Skylab was built on the basis of the body of the upper stage of the Saturn-1B rocket.

The hull was covered with thermal insulation, the interior of the tanks was adapted for life and scientific research crew of three.

In the lower part of the station there was a household compartment with rooms for rest, cooking and eating, sleeping and personal hygiene. Above was the laboratory compartment where the astronauts worked. Water, food and clothing in sufficient quantities for the work of three crews of three astronauts were stocked in special containers before the launch. The water was in tanks located at the top of the station. Food was kept in cupboards food products, refrigerators and freezers, also located in the upper part of the station and in the rooms for rest, cooking and eating.

Outside, solar panels were mounted on the station body, which, when the station was put into orbit, were pressed against its body in the folded state. From the outside, the station was surrounded by a thin cylindrical aluminum screen, which, after being put into orbit, was moved away from the surface of the station with the help of special levers and, being at some distance from it, served to protect the body from impacts of micrometeorites and from the effects of intense solar radiation.

In the head part of the orbital block of the station, an equipment compartment, an airlock chamber and a berthing compartment were placed. The station also had a shower, where water was supplied under pressure through a hose, which was then removed using a vacuum system - otherwise the drops could damage the equipment. In total, about 3 liters of water were spent on one trip to the shower and it took two and a half hours.

“It takes a lot longer, but then you smell good,” Paul Weitz, one of the astronauts, later shared.

It was assumed that Skylab would go into orbit on May 14, 1973, and the next day the first expedition would arrive at the station - astronauts Charles Conrad, Paul Weitz and Joseph Kerwin.

The launch took place on time. However, after the Saturn-5 launched the station into orbit, problems began - even in the first minute of the flight, a part of the protective screen and one of the six solar panels were torn off by the high-speed air pressure near the station. Another panel has not opened. As a result, the power generated by the batteries turned out to be much less than the calculated one, the on-board systems and scientific equipment could not function normally. Soon, the temperature at the station began to rise catastrophically, reaching +38 °C inside, and +80 °C on the outside. The possibility of operating Skylab was under threat.

In order to bring the station into working condition, it was decided to urgently produce a “protective umbrella” attached to the Skylab body on four spokes. And to carry out emergency repair and restoration work. It was they who were engaged in the first crew launched on May 25, 1973 for almost all 28 days of stay on board. He made several spacewalks, also opening a jammed solar array.

The next two expeditions were already engaged scientific work. The second, however, also had to be in the role of repairmen - Jack Lausma and Owen Garriott had to install a second heat shield and replace the gyroscopes.

The second expedition became famous for the prank that Garriott arranged. When the crew once again got in touch with the MCC, a female voice sounded on the air: “Reception, Houston. I haven't spoken to you in such a long time. Bob, is that you? This is Helen, Owen's wife.

The boys had not eaten homemade food for so long that I decided to bring them warm.

Over... Okay, I have to go. I see the boys flying up to the command module, and I wasn't allowed to talk to you. See you later, Bob!"

While on Earth they tried to understand what was happening at the station, the astronauts laughed and explained: Garriott took with him a voice recorder, into which his wife had spoken a few phrases in advance. The dialogue itself was rehearsed with the operator.

Later, the same crew played a prank on the members of the third expedition: when they arrived at the station, three silent figures were waiting for them, who were exercising on simulators and sitting in the toilet. It turned out that the previous crew took three old overalls, stuffed them with all kinds of garbage, and attached “heads” to them from paper bags. Since the team had a lot of work, for some time they were not up to cleaning the figures. Astronaut Edward Gibson later recalled:

“I felt like they were looking at me, checking everything I did, but not giving any help. Horror."

The third expedition, consisting of rookie astronauts Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue, staged a real riot on the ship.

The previous two expeditions spent 28 and 59 days in orbit, respectively, while the new crew went there for 84 days. In addition, their missions were much tighter than those of previous crews. In particular, big role was assigned to medical research, so the astronauts had to perform a lot exercise, run in place.

After that, the rebels turned off the connection and rested all day, contemplating the Earth through the viewing window. The next day they re-established contact and continued to work.

This case became indicative for psychologists - no one had previously investigated the consequences of such a long stay of people in space. After that, it was decided to think more carefully about the scope of work in accordance with the psychology and stress level of the crew. NASA specialists worked carefully with the requests of the crew, reducing their workload in the following weeks.

Despite numerous difficulties, Skylab expeditions carried out a huge number of biological, technical and astrophysical experiments. The most important were telescopic observations of the Sun in the X-ray and ultraviolet ranges, many flares were filmed, and coronal holes were discovered. The spacewalks during the expeditions included regular film changes of astronomical instruments mounted on the outside of the station.

The astronauts also observed the behavior of mice and mosquitoes in space, observed the Earth, studied how metals melt and crystals grow on board the station. One of the experiments was devoted to how spiders weave a web in zero gravity. In addition, they managed to observe the Kohoutek comet.

After the third crew returned to Earth, the station was mothballed.

Its further use was supposed to be resumed when shuttles - reusable ships - start flying. With their help, NASA intended to enlarge Skylab by adding several more orbital modules to it and bring the number of research crew members to six. However, no final funding decision has been made.

Meanwhile, increased solar activity has led to an increase in the density of the atmosphere at the height of Skylab's orbit, and the station's decline has accelerated. The rise of the station to a higher orbit was impossible, since it did not have its own engine - the orbit was raised only by the engines of the docked Apollos, in which the crews arrived at the station.

According to MCC calculations, the station was supposed to enter the atmosphere at 16:37 GMT on July 11, 1979. The flooding area of the station was supposed to be a point 1300 km south of Cape Town, South Africa. However, due to a calculation error and the fact that the station was collapsing more slowly than expected, some of the debris fell in western Australia, south of the city of Perth.

When NASA realized that part of the wreckage was on one of the Australian farms owned by a family of four, US President Jim Carter himself called its owner in the middle of the night saying: “Mr. Siler, I personally and the US government sincerely apologize to you for this incident. . Can you please tell me that no one was hurt on your farm?”

"BUT! Now I’ll look at the gobies ... It seems no, don’t worry! ”, The farmer replied.

By a funny coincidence, on July 20, the Miss Universe contest was held in Perth and a large fragment of the station's body was put up on the stage where the contenders performed.

Now this and other fragments found in Australia are exhibited in museums. After that, the United States did not create orbital stations for several decades.

launch vehicle launch pad Deorbit NSSDC ID SCN Specifications Weight Dimensions

length: 24.6 m
maximum diameter: 6.6 m

Orbital elements Mood Period of circulation apocenter pericenter Vitkov per day Mission logo

skylab at Wikimedia Commons

Length - 24.6 m, maximum diameter - 6.6 m, weight - 77 tons, internal volume - 352.4 m³. Orbit altitude - 434-437 km (perigee-apogee), inclination - 50°.

The mass-dimensional parameters (including the useful volume) of the Skylab station exceeded by several times the characteristics of the Soviet orbital stations of the DOS-Salyut and OPS-Almaz series. Also, the American station was the first where the crews worked repeatedly, and the first where there were two docking nodes (although the second was not used).

History of creation

The first projects of orbital stations began to appear in the USSR and the USA from the end of the 50s. One of the most common options was to convert the upper stage of the launch vehicle into a full-fledged orbital module. In particular, in 1963, the US Air Force proposed a project that had been developed for some time, but never implemented, the project of a military intelligence station MOL (Manned Orbiting Laboratory) based on the upper stage of the Agena rocket. Around the same time, von Braun presented the concept of the "Practical application of the Apollo program", where, among other things, it was supposed to use the upper stage of the Saturn 1B rocket as the living volume of the orbital station. In fact, the station acted in two forms - first it launched itself into orbit as a rocket stage, then the vacant liquid hydrogen tank was re-equipped and the stage turned into an orbital module. It was planned to have a docking station, solar panels and other equipment. The project under the working title "Orbital Workshop" found the support of the leadership of NASA and began to be implemented.

Serious cuts in the space budget in the early 1970s forced NASA to rethink its programs. The program of orbital stations has also undergone a significant quantitative reduction. On the other hand, after the cancellation of the Apollo 18, -19, -20 lunar expeditions, NASA was left with a stock of super-heavy rockets Saturn-5, which could easily launch a fully equipped orbital station, which means that the half version with the addition of a hydrogen tank became irrelevant. The final version was named "Skylab" - "Heavenly Laboratory".

Design

Schematic sectional representation of Skylab, giving an idea of the size of the station. On the left is the docked transport ship Apollo.

Launch of Skylab station by Saturn-5 booster

In-flight front view of airlock with main docking station and ATM bay

Sectional diagram of the internal volume

Fallen Fragment

1974 US dedicated Skylab stamp

Skylab was built on the upper stage body of the Saturn-1B rocket. The hull was covered with thermal insulation, the interior of the tanks was adapted for life and scientific research.

In the upper part of the hull, an equipment compartment was installed, an airlock with a main axial and backup lateral docking nodes 5.28 m long and 3.0 m in diameter, to which a massive compartment of ATM (Apollo Telescope Mount) astrophysical scientific instruments was attached. After entering orbit, the ATM rotated 90°, giving access to the axial docking port.

The empty hydrogen tank of the stage forms an orbital block of the station with an internal diameter of 6.6 m, partitioned off by lattice partitions into a laboratory (LO) and household (BO) compartments and a height of 6 m and 2 m. The oxygen tank is used to collect waste. LO serves for scientific experiments, BO - for rest, cooking and eating, sleeping and personal hygiene. Everything necessary for the activities of the three crews is on Skylab during its launch: 907 kg of food and 2722 kg of water.

The power supply system of the station consists of six solar panels (SB): the main ones deployed on the body in the form of two large wings, and four opening crosswise on the ATM unit.

The outer length of the Skylab complex with the Apollo transport ship docked to it is 36 m, weight is 91.1 tons. In the living compartments with a total volume of 352.4 m³, an artificial oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere (74% oxygen and 26% nitrogen) is maintained at a pressure of 0.35 atm and a temperature of 21-32 °C

SkyLab had a huge internal volume, providing almost unlimited freedom of movement, for example, it was easy to jump from wall to wall while doing gymnastics. The astronauts found the living conditions at the station very comfortable: in particular, a shower was installed there. Each astronaut had a small separate compartment-cabin - a niche with a closing curtain, where there was a berth and a box for personal belongings.

Skylab launch

The American Skylab OS was launched at 17:30 UTC on May 14, 1973 by the Saturn-5 rocket, and a day later, the first expedition was to go to the station on the Saturn-1B rocket, consisting of the commander - Charles Conrad, the CM pilot - Paul Whitets and a doctor Joseph Kerwin.

Skylab entered an almost circular orbit with a height of 435 km, revealed solar panels on ATM, however, one SB on the station body did not open, and the other came off. As the investigation showed, during the withdrawal from the station, the heat-insulating screen was torn off, which tore out one SB and jammed the other. Soon, the temperature at the station began to rise catastrophically, reaching 38 ° C inside, and 80 ° C on the outside. Skylab was left without electricity and without thermal control, and its operation was almost impossible. To resolve the situation, it was decided to deliver a replacement screen to the station - a kind of "umbrella", a panel stretched over 4 sliding spokes. "Umbrella" was made in the shortest possible time and already on May 25 went to the station along with the first expedition.

Expeditions to Skylab

In total, three expeditions visited the station, as planned. The main task of the expeditions was to study human adaptation to weightlessness and conduct scientific experiments. Since the launch of the station itself was designated SL-1 (Skylab-1), the three manned flights were numbered 2, 3 and 4.

The total cost of the Skylab program was about 3 billion US dollars at the prices of that time.

Further work of the station

There were no more expeditions to the station. A 20-day flight of the SL-5 Skylab-5 was proposed for scientific experiments and some raising of the station's orbit. Discussed ways to save Skylab before the start of flights reusable ships Space Shuttle, after which to operate for at least 5 years. The Skylab-Shuttle program included one flight to significantly raise the orbit using the propulsion module delivered by the shuttle, two flights of recovery expeditions with the delivery of a new docking port in the first, and then regular multi-month expeditions with bringing the crew to the station to six to eight people, docking a new large airlock module, other modules (including non-free-flying Spacelab Shuttle Laboratories) and trusses, as well as, possibly, an even larger Shuttle system's spent external tank being retrofitted with equipment. However, the final decision and funding was never made.

In the meantime, increased solar activity has led to some increase in the density of the atmosphere at the height of the Skylab orbit, and the station's decline has accelerated. It was impossible to raise the station to a higher orbit, since it did not have its own engine (the orbit was raised only by the engines of the docked Apollo spacecraft, in which the crews arrived at the station). The mission control center oriented the station to enter the atmosphere at 16:37 GMT on July 11, 1979. The station was flooded at a point 1300 km south of Cape Town, South Africa. However, an error in the calculations within 4% and the fact that the station was destroyed more slowly than expected, led to a shift in the point of impact of unburned debris: some of them fell in Western Australia south of the city of Perth. Some of the wreckage was found between the towns of Esperance and Rawlinna and is now on display in museums.