The launch date for Skylab 3 was officially established as 28 July 1973.

The launch window would open at 7:08 a.m. EDT for 10 minutes and would provide for a rendezvous in five revolutions. Recovery of SL-3 was planned for 22 September 1973. Two members of the Skylab 3 crew, Jack R. Lousma, left, and Owen K. Garriott, center, inspect a part of the twin-pole solar sail at MSFC (above). At right, Lousma practices erecting the solar sail over a portion of the Orbital Workshop mock in the MSFC Neutral Buoyancy Tank. Nylon netting was used for this underwater training instead of the aluminized fabric the actual sail was made of.