Skylab 2

Skylab 2 was first human spaceflight mission to the U.S Skylab orbital space station. The unmanned launch of the Skylab was given the name Skylab 1 but this flight was also called Skylab 1 although it was mission SL-2 and flown on the Skylab 2 vehicle. Skylab was the first U.S. space station. Skylab 2 established a record for human spaceflight duration.

On May 25, 1973, a crew was sent to the facility for maintenance and refit aboard an Apollo capsule. This mission used the command/service module only and not the Apollo lander. During the mission three EVA were conducted including the deployment of a sunshade to replace one torn off during launch of the station. In orbit the crew conducted solar astronomy and Earth resources experiments, medical studies, and five student experiments; 392 hours of experiments were completed.

The mission lasted until June 22, 1973. Skylab 2 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean 9.6 km from the recovery ship, U.S.S. Ticonderoga.

The mission set the records for the longest duration manned spacelight, greatest distance travelled, greatest mass docked in space and Conrad set the record for most time in space for an astronaut.

The command module they flew to the station in is displayed at the Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, Florida.

Crew

• Pete Conrad
• Paul Weitz
• Joseph Kerwin