The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has released this reproduction of the emblem for the first Skylab mission. The Skylab is a 100-ton experimental space station including a laboratory for medical, scientific and technological experiments. The emblem, by artist Kelly Freas, shows the Skylab silhouetted against the earth’s globe, which in turn is eclipsing the Sun.
| Photo Credit: AP
Questions:
1. On February 8, 1974, the crew of the fourth mission to the NASA space station Skylab returned to ground, ending the mission. Name the three astronauts of the crew, all of whom were on their first space mission.
2. The Skylab 4 mission became famous for a particular incident (see Q3). But it was also notable for being the first mission to record a _____ _____ as it took shape from a space-borne camera. Fill in the blanks.
3. Near the mission’s midpoint, the three crew members were overworked and stressed out. For a planned radio meeting with ground control, they decided one of the crew would attend while the other two caught up on pending tasks. However, during the meeting, the crew forgot to turn on their radios, so ground control received no updates for the meeting. This incident acquired mythical overtones in the press as the first what in space?
4. Following the meeting incident, NASA officials made many changes to improve the relationship between ground control and astronauts in space. One of them was that at least one astronaut with the ___ would have to be a veteran, not a first-timer. Fill in the blank.
5. Name the record the Skylab 4 mission set that the Soviet Salyut 6 EO-1 mission broke in March 1978.
Visual:
Name this watch. One of the Skylab 4 crew wore it, making it the first automatic chronograph in space.
Answers:
1. Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson, William Pogue
2. Solar flare
3. Strike
4. International Space Station (ISS)
5. Longest human spaceflight mission at the time
Visual: Pogue Seiko
