Everything about Skylab B totally explained
Skylab B was a concept for a second
US space station similar to
Skylab that was planned to be launched by
NASA for different purposes, mostly involving the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, but was canceled due to lack of funding. Two Skylabs were made by
McDonnell Douglas for the Skylab program, originally the
Apollo Applications Program, in
1970, one launched in
1973 and the other put in storage and considered as Skylab B.
Plans
Numerous plans for the Skylab B station included putting it into a mode where it could generate artificial gravity, or to celebrate the
1976 United States Bicentennial with the launch of two Soviet Soyuz missions to the back-up Skylab.
When the
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was created in
1972, NASA had an idea of launching the back-up Skylab station during the ASTP mission in 1975, which would involve the
Apollo spacecraft docking with the
Soyuz spacecraft first, performing intended operations, then heading for the Skylab B, which during the ASTP discussion was originally called the
International Skylab, for a 56-90 days extended mission.
For future missions, the station, which would have then be called the
Advanced Skylab, could have been expanded by the
space shuttle due to enter service in
1981, after the original Skylab station re-entered in
1979, the year the shuttle was expected to make its maiden flight. At the time the idea was discussed, NASA still had two
Saturn V launchers, three
Saturn IB boosters, the back-up Skylab space station, three
Apollo CSMs and two
Lunar Modules in storage.
After the original Skylab was launched in
May 1973, the plan for the Skylab B was distinctly canceled and the Apollo/Soyuz spacecraft had to use the Docking Module launched on the Apollo-Saturn IB for performing experiments in space. After Project Apollo ended and as NASA was moving to developing the space shuttle, the remaining Apollo hardware was donated to museums in 1976. In the meantime, if the Skylab B space station has been launched in the first place, it would have been the
United States' second space station launched apart from the
International Space Station, which is now in orbit and under construction, although it also contains different space station modules developed by other countries.
The so-called Skylab B can be seen at the
National Air and Space Museum in
Washington D.C.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Skylab B'.
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