Space Rocket History

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.

A scant five months after Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean in December of 1972, NASA launched Skylab to begin a new phase of American manned spaceflight – space station operations.

The post Space Rocket History #386 – Skylab – Pre-history first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Once its antennas were deployed, Explorer 49 was the largest human-made object to orbit the Moon as of 2022.  

The post Space Rocket History #385 – Copernicus (OAO-3), SAS-2, Venera 8, Luna 20 & 21, and Explorer 49 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Launched in 1972 and weighing 258 kilograms (569 pounds), Pioneer 10 completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter and became the first of five artificial objects to achieve the escape velocity needed to leave the Solar System.  

The post Space Rocket History #384 – Pioneer 10 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“The UK 4 (United Kingdom Research Satellite 4), a.k.a. Ariel 4, was a small observatory designed to investigate the interactions between electromagnetic waves, plasmas, and energetic particles present in the upper ionosphere.” Wikipedia            

The post Space Rocket History #383 – Ariel 4, Prospero X-3, Shinsei, Isis-2, And Our 9th Anniversary first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

This is how Deputy Chief Designer for OKB-1, Boris Chertok described the launch of Mars 3. “The red disk of the Sun was just touching the horizon and dramatically illuminated the rocket as it lifted off with a roar. Separation … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #382 – Mars 2 & 3 and Luna 18 & 19 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Mariner 8 and 9 were virtually identical and designed to continue the atmospheric studies begun by Mariner 6 and 7, and to hopefully map over 70% of the Martian surface.

The post Space Rocket History #381 – Mariner 8 & 9 first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

The Apollo 17 mission was the most productive and trouble-free piloted mission to the moon and represented the culmination of continual advancements in hardware, procedures, training, planning, operations, and scientific experiments.

The post Space Rocket History #380 – Apollo 17 – The Finale first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

At 4:56 Houston time, Gene rested the tip of his left index finger on the yellow ignition button.  

The post Space Rocket History #379 – Apollo 17 – Lunar Lift off, Docking & Orbital Science first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“As we leave the Moon and Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came, and God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo Seventeen.” – Gene Cernan’s final words from the surface of … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #378 – Apollo 17 – Moonwalk 3 – The Last Steps on the Moon first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

“How can there be orange soil on the Moon?! (Pause) Jack, that is really orange.” Gene Cernan

The post Space Rocket History #377 – Apollo 17 – Moonwalk 1 & 2 – Orange Soil first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Gene Cernan’s first words were “As I step off at the surface of Taurus-Littrow, I’d like to dedicate the first steps of Apollo Seventeen to all those who made it possible.”  

Gene had a deadlock visual on the landing site. He knew exactly where he was, and the LM had become part of him, responding to his wishes as well as his touch on the controls as they lowered closer to

For the next two days, Jack Schmitt would do a running account of Earth’s weather patterns. One Capcom even called Schmitt the human weather satellite.      

At 12:33 A.M. Dec. 7th 1972, “the hold-down arms released and the mighty Saturn V stirred, balanced on a dazzling fireball that grew to the size of an atomic bomb. As a show-stopping spectacular, noth

By the time they reached the elevator, Cernan felt absolutely charmed, and was grinning from ear to ear. His Saturn V sparkled like a 363-foot-high jewel rampant against the night sky, center stage an

Flight director Gene Kranz wrote that Cernan was his favorite because of his carefree and jovial attitude, unabashed patriotism, and his close personal relationship with the flight controllers. 

Harrison Schmitt played a key role in training Apollo crews to be geologic observers when they were in lunar orbit and competent geologic field workers when they were on the lunar surface. After each

Apollo 17 would break several crewed spaceflight records: 1) longest moon mission duration: 12 days 13 hours 52 minutes (just a day and a third shorter than the 14 days set in 1965 by Gemini 7), 2) lo

On re-entry Casper hit the atmosphere at an altitude of about 400,000 feet above the earth and at a velocity of nearly 25,000 miles per hour. 

The LM eventually crashed due to lunar gravity anomalies. Since Houston didn’t know exactly where it landed, it was not useful to calibrate seismic experiments on the surface. 

It was the only time in their whole lunar stay that Charlie had a real moment of panic and thought he had killed himself.

The crew nicknamed this operation “The Big Sneak.” They figured the only way to do this was to approach from behind a big rock, then reach over and collect the sample.

John and Charlie also collected several rusty-looking rocks with brown stains on their surfaces. These were exciting finds because the rusty appearance suggested the presence of hydrated oxides of iro

As the red smoke cleared, Al saw widening holes in one of their parachutes, collapsing it into a useless strip of cloth. “We’ve got a streamer on one,” Al reported.

On Hadley Plain, at 171:37 GET, right on schedule, Falcon’s engine lit, hurling the ascent stage upward in an impressive flurry of dust and debris, captured for the first time on camera and transmitted live to a world-wide audience.

After being cooped up together so closely with his fellow astronauts inside Endeavor, Worden enjoyed stretching out for his solo flight.  Now he really got to fly.