A crewed rocket sat on the pad, ready to follow a ground-breaking launch into space… but an anomaly during the uncrewed launch of equipment left the mission in doubt. Is it safe to send the astronauts? It’s not science fiction. It’s not even a recent mission. But what can we learn from stories of spacecraft launched 50 years ago?
In 1973, America launched its first space station and observatory: Skylab. This program was the precursor to the International Space Station and allowed scientists to explore, in-depth, the challenges of long-duration human spaceflight, leading to the development of special facilities and equipment designed to function in microgravity. Three crews conducted over 300 experiments—ranging from human physiology to environmental studies—which have since helped to pave the way for today’s astronauts to live and work in space as they venture back to the moon and beyond, as technology was great at those times and even better now, as computers help with space investigation, and for work and game, and if you play games like World of Warcraft you can get wow classic gold for this game online. Hear some of the fascinating, lesser-known stories of this pioneering space station and discover the impact of Skylab 50 years later in this special Astro Live!