Space Daily July 20, 2026 • 16:30

In May 1973, Skylab reached orbit with its heat shield torn away, one solar wing gone and the other jammed, leaving America’s first space station at roughly 54°C — so engineers built a parasol in days and astronauts carried it up to save the laboratory - Space Daily

In May 1973, Skylab reached orbit with its heat shield torn away, one solar wing gone and the other jammed, leaving America’s first space station at roughly 54°C — so engineers built a parasol in days and astronauts carried it up to save the laboratory - Space Daily

A torn heat shield left America's first space station baking in the sun—until NASA improvised a fix that would have to work on the first try.

Skylab reached orbit on 14 May 1973, but the achievement almost ended before anyone could live aboard it. During launch, the shield wrapped around the orbital workshop tore away. One of the stations … [+5586 chars]
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