Feb 252011
One of the earliest designs for a “wet lab” space station based on the S-IVb stage that can be directly traced to Skylab ancestry. This piece of NASA-MSFC artwork dates from 1966 and shows clear similarity to Skylab. The Apollo telescope mount is still clearly derived from the Lunar Module; the solar panel arrangement is obviously quite different, and it has retained the aerodynamic shrouds (which were probably meant to serve as micrometeoroid shielding). Another telescope is shown directly opposite the Apollo mount, and there’s of course the J-2 engine way at the back.
Drawings to come.
2 Responses to “Skylab – the early days”
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that Another telescope is the Mapping and Survey System Hardware (MSS)
the OWS plan on 8 November 1966:
launch of AAP-2 crew and the MSS (28 day OWS build up) with SA-209
one day later launch AAP-1 OWS with SA-210
Rendezvous AAP & MSS at OWS and docking
launch of AAP-3 crew (56 day ) with Resupply with SA-211
one day later AAP-4 ATM launch
AAP-3 rendezvous with AAP-4 then up to OWS and docking
and OWS is complete
[…] of more or less this configuration was shown previously; here are a few simple diagrams. This wet-lab Apollo Applications Program orbiting workshop was the […]