Space Rocket History

Pioneer 11 detected Saturn’s bow shock on Aug. 31, 1979, about 932,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) out from the planet, thus providing the first conclusive evidence of the existence of Saturn’s magnetic field.

The post Space Rocket History #436 – Pioneer 11 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

This second generation of the Soyuz spacecraft, the Soyuz 7k-T was flown on Soyuz 12 through Soyuz 40 missions from 1973–1981. The new 7K-T spacecraft was designed to accommodate only two cosmonauts who would wear pressure suits at all times … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #435 – Soyuz 12 & 13 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

At this point in 1973, the Soviets were attempting to fly 2 types of space station, the long duration orbital station scientific version called DOS.  The other station was a military spy space station equipped with a machine gun, called … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #434 – Salyut 2, Mars 4, 5, 6, 7 & Tang Ceremony first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Despite predictions, events seldom occur precisely as expected. The calculated breakup altitude of Skylab was based on its intended structural strength specifications. However, the actual vehicle was stronger than the specified strength requirements.

The post Space Rocket History #433 – Skylab – Crashdown first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

The official decision to proceed with the Skylab reboost mission was made on September 1st 1977, initiating a two-year preparation period for the development and production of the required hardware and systems.

The post Space Rocket History #432 – Skylab – Reboost first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Early in the planning stages of the Skylab flight, there was a desire to keep it in orbit long enough to use it as the core of a larger station.

The post Space Rocket History #431 – Skylab – Skylab 5 & Skylab B first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Activating the station upon arrival was a challenge, but packing up to return home was also a major event that took several days. For Carr and his crew, this was the last planned visit, but they left open the possibility … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #430 – Skylab – Skylab 4 – Leaving Skylab first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

The next time an American would venture outside of a spacecraft would be on a Space Shuttle flight and that was nine years later. In less than a decade, from June 1965 to February 1974, American astronauts had learned to … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #429 – Skylab – Skylab 4 – Solar Observations and the Last EVA first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

This crew was the first to celebrate a new year in space 17 times as they orbited the earth and moved through the time zones.

The post Space Rocket History #428 – Skylab – Skylab 4 – Kohoutek in all its Glory first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“We and everybody on the ground thought that it was going to be a beautiful, brilliant comet. It turned out to be beautiful all right, but it was so faint that we really had to work to find it. Once … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #427 – Skylab – Skylab 4 – Christmas in Space first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“Nothing was outside, three times I went out that hatch into the ‘truly great outdoors.’ When I was out there, it was a silent world, except for the whispers of my own breath. Sometimes I felt totally alone, like the … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #426 – Skylab – Skylab 4 – The First EVA first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“There was no strike in space by any stretch of the imagination. What could we threaten to do, go live on the moon? If any of these writers had gotten their information from just one of us, the crew or … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #425 – Skylab – Skylab 4 – The Strike (Fake News) first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

One stowaway was on the bicycle ergometer, another was in the LBNP (lower body negative pressure device), and the third was sitting on the toilet in the waste management compartment.

The post Space Rocket History #424 – Skylab – Skylab 4 – Stowaways & We Lost Gibson first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“As we rode, the big blue eyes of Al Shepard bored into each of us looking for any sign of weakness, any indication that one of these rookies was not ready to go. I looked back with a defiant smile, … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #423 – Skylab – Skylab 4 – Launch & The Vomit Bag Scandal first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

In space, on the day the second crew left Skylab, which was September 25, 1973, the orbital workshop began it’s third unmanned period.

The post Space Rocket History #422 – Skylab – Skylab 4 – Kohoutek, Experiments, Flight Prep & Training first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“I felt like that mission was from my viewpoint the highlight of my career, as being the best astronaut that I could be. I felt like our crew was the best crew we could be because we had done the … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #421 – Skylab – Skylab 3 – Recovery & Re-acclimation first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“The thing I remember about reentry was not positioning some RCS switches correctly. We got behind and Owen could not read my notes in the checklist because of the limited space (and my ‘unique’ penmanship). I said, ‘Give me the … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #420 – Skylab – Skylab 3 – De-orbit, Re-entry, & Splashdown first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“Hello Houston. Roger. Well I, haven’t talked with you for a while. Isn’t that you down there. Bob? This is Helen, here in Skylab. The boys hadn’t had a good home cooked meal in so long, I  thought I’d bring … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #419 – Skylab – Skylab 3 – Those Tricky Garriotts first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

On mission day 28, August 24th 1973, it was time to perform the 2nd EVA.  Garriott and Lousma once again stepped outside the orbital workshop for a 4 and ½ hour spacewalk.

The post Space Rocket History #418 – Skylab – Skylab 3 – AMU, EVA 2, Space Physics, Solar Physics and Mission Extension first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Finally, the crew became efficient enough to get all of the work done that was scheduled for a given day. But, that did not make up for the time lost at the beginning of the mission.  Reaching 100 percent efficiency … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #417 – Skylab – Skylab 3 – Maximum Effort, Determination, Efficiency, and Accomplishment first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“I had to connect eleven five-foot sections of aluminum poles, twice, forming two long poles. These were then extended to Jack some forty or fifty feet away, where the poles were mounted in a ‘V’, and a large ‘sail’ pulled … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #416 – Skylab – Skylab 3 – Wives, Spiders, Minnows and a Spacewalk first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“Near the end of our preparation period, management said; Well, we believe, we can do this, now let’s set about to see how we can get them down without expending the resources for a rescue mission.  So just overnight we … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #415 – Skylab – Skylab 3 – Rescue Mission Part 2 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“I think for me that was probably the low point of the mission because it threatened our ability to get our job done, and I wasn’t willing to come home.  I’ve never been afraid of space, but that was a … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #414 – Skylab – Skylab 3 – Rescue Mission Part 1 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Garriott was in the center couch and Lousma was on his right with a small window near his seat, Suddenly Jack announced, “Owen, there goes one of our thrusters floating by the window!”  

The post Space Rocket History #413 – Skylab – Skylab 3-Rendezvous, Docking & Vomit first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

The crew complement for the Skylab 3 mission was 783 life forms (52 fish, 720 flies, 6 mice, 2 spiders and 3 humans), by far the largest crew yet.

The post Space Rocket History #412 – Skylab – The Launch of Skylab 3 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Before the astronauts could leave there was one final problem to solve. Skylab’s refrigeration system began warming up. Houston immediately went to work on finding a solution. Now, there was some concern that the crews return would be delayed.

The post Space Rocket History #411 – Skylab – Skylab 2 – Splashdown first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

On Mission day 25, the crew was informed that they had surpassed the Russian space endurance record set by Soyuz 11 on Salyut 1 in 1971.

The post Space Rocket History #410 – Skylab – Skylab 2 – Days 24-28 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“Houston, Skylab. I’d like you to be the first to know that the PLT is the proud father of a genuine flare.” Joe Kerwin

The post Space Rocket History #409 – Skylab – Skylab 2 – Days 8-23 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

NASA’s first priority was to get Skylab back into solar inertial attitude.  This was both the coolest attitude and would point the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) solar arrays directly at the sun. Thus the crew would have the most electrical … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #408 – Skylab – Skylab 2 – Days 2-7 & 10th Anniversary Celebration first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

During the stand up EVA, Kerwin held Weitz while he pulled at the debris several times which disturbed the stability of the Skylab station and caused the Skylabs gyros to compensate. This was a big problem because it nearly pulled … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #407 – Skylab – “We Can Fix Anything” first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

At 07:00 hours Houston time, Skylab 2 roared off its Milk Stool from LC-39B; the first Saturn IB launch in almost five years and only the second launch from Pad 39B.

The post Space Rocket History #406 – Skylab – The Launch of Skylab 2 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Nasa concluded that the failure of the micrometeoroid shield 63 seconds into the flight caused the breaking of the solar array system. Furthermore, at 593 seconds into the flight the second stage retro rocket plume exhaust resulted in the ripping … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #405 – Skylab – What Went Wrong and How Do We Fix It? first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Having two rockets stacked on pads 39A and 39B at the same time made for quite a sight at the Kennedy Space Center. There were also two firing rooms at KSC’s Launch Control Center that would control the countdowns for … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #404 – Skylab – The Launch of Skylab 1 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

This SMEAT crew would test out various elements of the Skylab equipment and procedures in a series of trials, ending in a full-scale simulation that was set at 56 days.

The post Space Rocket History #403 – Skylab – S.M.E.A.T. – Skylab Mission 0 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

The backup crew and some support crew participated in an interesting rescue scenario with 2 astronauts flying to Skylab to take back the crew of 3 onboard Skylab. This would mean 5 astronauts returning to earth in the command module.

The post Space Rocket History #402 – Skylab – Training Part 2 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Aside from physically training for the longest crewed missions that the United States had ever attempted, the actual training program was developed simultaneously with the hardware and experiments for the mission.

The post Space Rocket History #401 – Skylab – Training Part 1 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Bill Pogue served with the Thunderbirds as an aerobatics pilot from 1955 to 1957.

The post Space Rocket History #400 – Skylab – The Astronauts Part 5 – Pogue & Weitz first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Carr was in the likely crew rotation position to serve as lunar module pilot for Apollo 19 and walk on the Moon before the mission was canceled by NASA in 1970.

The post Space Rocket History #399 – Skylab – The Astronauts Part 4 – Lousma & Carr first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“Farewell, Aquarius, and we thank you.” Joe Kerwin

The post Space Rocket History #398 – Skylab – The Astronauts Part 3 – Kerwin & Lousma first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“I started out being president of my first grade class, two years in a row.” Ed Gibson

The post Space Rocket History #397 – Skylab – The Astronauts Part 2 – Garriott & Gibson first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“Pete wanted to do Skylab and we both felt that we did not want the moon program to get crowded, other people deserved chances too.” Al Bean

The post Space Rocket History #396 – Skylab – The Astronauts Part 1 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Skylab had three bedrooms or sleep compartments, one for each astronaut aboard.  To save space, the beds were arranged vertically in the quarters. 

The post Space Rocket History #395 – Skylab – The Tour Part 2 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

As a crew would approach Skylab in their Apollo Command Module, they would see its docking port that was called the Multiple Docking Adapter or MDA. 

The post Space Rocket History #394 – Skylab – The Tour Part 1 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

During 1970-1972, a possible fourth “new” docking mission with Skylab was considered. This new mission would not be just another Apollo docking, instead it was a radically different idea. 

The post Space Rocket History #393 – Skylab – Soyuz Mission first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

On February 1970, Nasa announced that the AAP had been renamed.  America’s first space station would enter the history books as Skylab.

The post Space Rocket History #392 – Skylab – Let’s Call it Skylab first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

The Apollo Applications Program (AAP) was created in 1966 by NASA headquarters to develop science-based human spaceflight missions using hardware developed for the Apollo program.

The post Space Rocket History #391 – Skylab – Pre-history – Apollo Applications Program first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

On June 7th 1969, General Stewart ordered all work on Gemini B, the Titan IIIM and the MOL spacesuit, to cease and to cancel or curtail all other contracts. The official announcement that the MOL had been canceled was made … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #390 – Skylab – Pre-history – MOL Part 4 & Extending Apollo first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

A planning document depicted 12-man and 40-man stations, both with self-defense capability. It described the 40-man, Y-shaped station as a “spaceborne command post” in synchronous orbit. The key requirement was “post attack survivability”, the station would be capable of “Strategic/tactical … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #389 – Skylab – Pre-history – MOL Part 3 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Strangely enough the MOL astronauts only knew of the cover story that the program would be a space laboratory for military experiments and did not learn of the reconnaissance role until after selection.

The post Space Rocket History #388 – Skylab – Pre-history – MOL Part 2 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

NASA feasibility studies determined that a research space laboratory could be placed in orbit by 1967. However, to fund such a project it had to be justified by achieving a national goal, or an important science goal, or test of … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #387 – Skylab – Pre-history – Dyna-Soar & MOL first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.