Jan 18

Space Rocket History #406 – Skylab – The Launch of Skylab 2

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.

Skylab 2 Crew-Kerwin, Conrad, Weitz

Launch of Skylab 2

Launch of Skylab 2

Skylab Fly Around

Skylab Fly Around Inspecting Damage

Jan 04

Space Rocket History #405 – Skylab – What Went Wrong and How Do We Fix It?

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 off of the array.

How the Shield was Torn Off

Making the Sunshade

Making the Sunshade

Shade Deployment Test

Shade Deployment Test

Dec 14

Space Rocket History #404 – Skylab – The Launch of Skylab 1

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 both rockets simultaneously.

Workshop with Shield Wrapped Around it

Skylab 1 & 2 on Pads 39A & 39B

Launch of Skylab 1

Feb 25

Space Rocket History #150 – Apollo 6: Pogo and the Tang Ceremony

The success of Apollo 4 gave good reason to believe that the Saturn V could be trusted to propel men into space. But NASA pushed on with its plans for a second unmanned booster flight, primarily to give the Pad 39 launch team another rehearsal before sending men into deep space on the Saturn V.  The mission was called Apollo 6…

Apollo 6 patch

Apollo 6 patch

Lunar Test Article

Lunar Test Article

Apollo 6 launch

Apollo 6 launch

Exhaust plume of Apollo 6

Exhaust plume of Apollo 6

Interstage falling away

Interstage falling away

Apollo 6 splashdown and recovery

Apollo 6 splashdown and recovery