2-701-454 - Heritage Space/Heritage Images

Last view of Skylab, 1974. The Skylab space station first launched in May 1973, and was occupied in succession by three teams of three crewmembers. These crews orbited the Earth and performed nearly 300 experiments. The final mission started on 16 November 1973 and the crew was recovered on 8 February 1974 after 84 days in space. The space station's orbit decayed faster than expected, due to intense solar activity heating up Earth's atmosphere. In July 1979, Skylab reached Earth, falling in pieces in the small town of Esperance, Australia.