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Skylab 4

Skylab 4 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Skylab 4 rather than just read about it. In short: Skylab 4 (also SL-4 and SLM-3) was the third crewed Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew aboard the first American space station. The mission began on November 16, 1973, with the launch of Gerald P.

Skylab 4 — main illustration
Skylab 4 — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Skylab 4 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Skylab 4 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Skylab 4 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Skylab 4 (also SL-4 and SLM-3) was the third crewed Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew aboard the first American space station. The mission began on November 16, 1973, with the launch of Gerald P. Carr, Edward Gibson, and William R. Pogue in an Apollo command and service module on a Saturn IB rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and lasted 84 days, one hour and 16 minutes. A total of 6,051 astronaut-utilization hours were tallied by the Skylab 4 astronauts performing scientific experiments in the areas of medical activities, solar observations, Earth resources, observation of the Comet Kohoutek and other experiments. The crewed Skylab missions were officially designated Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Miscommunication about the numbering resulted in the mission emblems reading "Skylab I", "Skylab II", and "Skylab 3" respectively.

Launch

NASA's launch center was located in an area called Cape Kennedy since November 28, 1963. Cape Kennedy was restored to its former name of Cape Canaveral officially on October 9, 1973. The Saturn V launch facilities at LC-39A and LC-39B were still located at the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island. The Skylab 4 mission was the first crewed launch since the area changed its name back to Cape Canaveral; it launched from the Kennedy Space Center's LC-39B pad on November 16, 1973.

Crew

With three rookies, Skylab 4 was the largest all-rookie crew launched by NASA. Following the all rookie Mercury program, there were only four all-rookie NASA flights – Gemini 4, Gemini 7, Gemini 8, and Skylab 4.

Backup crew

Support crew Robert L. Crippen Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr Bruce McCandless II F. Story Musgrave Russell L. Schweickart William E. Thornton Richard H. Truly

Mission parameters

Mass: 20,847 kg (45,960 lb) Maximum altitude: 440 km (273 mi) (November 16, 1973) Total distance traveled: 34.5 million miles (55,500,000 km) Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB SA-208 Spacecraft: Apollo CSM-118 Epoch: January 21, 1974 Perigee: 422 km (262 mi) Apogee: 437 km (272 mi) Inclination: 50.04° Period: 93.11 min

Docking Docked: November 16, 1973 – 21:55:00 UTC Undocked: February 8, 1974 – 02:33:12 UTC Time Docked: 83 days, 4 hours, 38 minutes, 12 seconds

Space walks Gibson and Pogue – EVA 1 Start: November 22, 1973, 17:42 UTC End: November 23, 00:15 UTC Duration: 6 hours, 33 minutes Carr and Pogue – EVA 2 Start: December 25, 1973, 16:00 UTC End: December 25, 23:01 UTC Duration: 7 hours, 01 minute Carr and Gibson – EVA 3 Start: December 29, 1973, 17:00 UTC End: December 29, 20:29 UTC Duration: 3 hours, 29 minutes Carr and Gibson – EVA 4 Start: February 3, 1974, 15:19 UTC End: February 3, 20:38 UTC Duration: 5 hours, 19 minutes

Mission highlights

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Skylab 4 illustration
Skylab 4 illustration
Skylab 4 illustration
Skylab 4: The Skylab 4 Saturn 1B space vehicle is launched from Pad B, Launch Complex 39.
The Skylab 4 Saturn 1B space vehicle is launched from Pad B, Launch Complex 39.
Skylab 4: One of the dummies left behind by the Skylab 3 crew to be found by the Skylab 4 crew
One of the dummies left behind by the Skylab 3 crew to be found by the Skylab 4 crew

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Skylab 4

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Skylab 4 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Skylab 4 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Skylab 4 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Skylab 4

In research
Skylab 4 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Skylab 4 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Skylab 4 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1973 in spaceflight, Crewed Skylab missions, Individual spacecraft in the Smithsonian Institution, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Skylab 4 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Skylab 4 in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Skylab 4 means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Skylab 4 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Skylab 4 in simple terms?

Skylab 4 (also SL-4 and SLM-3) was the third crewed Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew aboard the first American space station. The mission began on November 16, 1973, with the launch of Gerald P.

Why does Skylab 4 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Skylab 4?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Skylab 4.

Tags

  • 1973 in spaceflight
  • Crewed Skylab missions
  • Individual spacecraft in the Smithsonian Institution
  • Saturn IB
  • Spacecraft involved in extravehicular activity
  • Spacecraft launched by Saturn rockets
  • Spacecraft launched in 1973
  • Spacecraft which reentered in 1974
  • Successful space missions

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