Skylab lift-off May 1973

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Skylab lift-off May 1973
Skylab lift-off May 1973

Nikkormat with a Tamron 70 - 210 with 2x teleconverter on Agfachrome 100


Skylab Launch

On May 14, 1973, the final Saturn V rocket thundered off Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to lift the Skylab space station into orbit. At first, all appeared to be proceeding normally, but at about 63 seconds into the mission, flight controllers in Houston observed the first signs of trouble. Telemetry indicated premature deployment of the micrometeoroid shield, designed to protect the station from debris and also act as a thermal blanket, and at least one of the OWS solar arrays, events that should have taken place only once the station achieved orbit. Less than 10 minutes after launch, after reaching its planned orbit, Skylab separated from the Saturn V’s S-II second stage and began a preprogrammed sequence to deploy the solar arrays and the ATM. Engineers in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, led by Flight Director Donald R. Puddy, noted that while the ATM and its arrays deployed normally, sensors indicated that the main OWS arrays did not and were only generating 25 watts of power. Furthermore, temperatures inside the station began steadily rising to levels that would be intolerable for the crew, harmful to delicate equipment, and ruin onboard consumables, indicating the loss of thermal protection from the missing micrometeoroid shield. With the station underpowered and overheating, the entire Skylab program seemed in jeopardy. Flight controllers faced a daunting challenge. To maximize power generation by the ATM solar arrays, the best attitude was to orient them toward the Sun, but this caused maximal heating on the orbital workshop. Conversely, the optimal attitude to minimize the heat loads on the OWS significantly reduced power generation. After a day or so, controllers arrived at a compromise attitude to balance these competing factors while engineers and astronauts worked tirelessly to find more permanent solutions.

Source: www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-the-launch-of-skylab-am...

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