SKYLAB: The Broken Space Station that Required a Repair Plan - Intrepid Astro Live

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? Its not science fiction. Its 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. 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! Today's show is Moderated by Summer Ash. Produced and Hosted by John Galloway ----------------------------------------- GUEST BIOS: David Hitt - Author and Engineer David Hitt is co-author of two books, “Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story,” written with astronauts Owen Garriott and Joe Kerwin, and “Bold They Rise: The Space Shuttle Early Years," both part of the University of Nebraska Press' Ordway-Award-winning Outward Odyssey spaceflight history series. David has appeared in documentaries including the award-winning "Searching for Skylab" and "Saving Skylab." He has worked as a contractor at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center since 2002, and works as a systems engineer supporting payload integration for NASA's Space Launch System rocket, a foundational capability for humanity's return to the Moon through the Artemis program. A contractor with Jacobs, David is a recipient of NASA's Silver Snoopy Award, presented by the agency's Astronaut Office, and the AIAA Greater Huntsville Section's Hermann Oberth Award. A former newspaper editor, Hitt is a native of Huntsville, Alabama, and holds a bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Mississippi and is pursuing a masters in systems engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. David is a past Policy Formulation Subcommittee chair for the National Space Society, and a senior member of the AIAA. David and his wife Rebecca have one son, Owen. Charles M Lewis - NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Retired Charles M. Lewis is a Marshall Space Flight Center veteran who joined NASA in 1967, Mr. Lewis contributed to most of the nation’s human spaceflight programs: Apollo, Skylab, Spacelab, and the International Space Station. As a young electrical engineer, he was recruited by Von Braun’s Crew-Systems group to contribute to the development of the Extra-Vehicular-Activity film retrieval system for Skylab. During that mission, he served on the Crew Systems Team that successfully saved the wounded space station, developing the Skylab thermal shield, the EVA techniques used to erect the damaged solar array, and other in-orbit repair schemes. Following a stint in Marshall’s Propulsion Division he was selected to serve as Payload Training Coordinator for the Spacelab 1 mission, (STS-9), and ultimately supported that mission as the science CAPCOM in the Payload Operations Control Center. After Spacelab, he was promoted to Chief of the Man-Systems Integration Branch, supervising engineers and support personnel in Man-Systems requirements, payload operations training, and real-time support of manned space missions. Then, in 1994, he was chosen as Chief of the Mission Training Division, responsible for flight crew and ground support training on Spacelab and Space Station science payloads as well as Man-Systems design standards and requirements. After retirement in 1997, he assisted the Japanese space agency’s space station training team as instructor evaluator, astronaut surrogate, and coach during Japanese payload training rehearsal/certification sessions. Chuck and his wife, GeNel, live in Huntsville, Alabama where he volunteers at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, mentors a high school robotics team, continues a lifelong interest in Amateur Radio, and nourishes a growing interest in amateur astronomy. ----------------------------------------- If you are interested in using footage captured by this stream, please review our content use policy: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/conte...