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This Week in NASA History: Second Crewed Skylab Mission Launches – July 28, 1973

This week in 1973, the second crewed Skylab mission launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
the second crewed Skylab mission launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

This week in 1973, the second crewed Skylab mission launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. During the 59-day mission, a crew of three astronauts continued maintenance of the space station, performed extensive scientific and medical experiments, installed a twin pole solar shield, and more than doubled the previous record for length of time in space. Here, astronaut Alan Bean is near the Apollo Telescope Mount during the final spacewalk of the mission. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center provided the Saturn rockets for the four Skylab missions and directed many of the space station’s experiments. Today, the Payload Operations Integration Center at Marshall serves as “science central” for the International Space Station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory’s science experiments. After 20 years of continuous human presence, the space station remains the sole space-based proving ground and stepping stone toward achieving the goals of the Artemis program. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological, and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage. (NASA)