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Skylab B
Part of Skylab

Skylab Cutaway

Skylab Cutaway
Cutaway of the Skylab space station.
Credit: NASA

After the completion of Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP programs there was still significant Apollo surplus hardware. Plans to use it were cancelled; an opportunity to launch an International Space Station, at a tenth the cost and twenty years earlier, was lost.

Launched: 1975. Number crew: 3 .

NASA realized that after the completion of the Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP programs there would still be significant Apollo surplus hardware. This amounted to two Saturn V and three Saturn IB boosters; one Skylab space station, three Apollo CSM's and two Lunar Modules. After many iterations NASA considered use of these assets for a second Skylab station in May 1973. A range of options were considered. Saturn V SA-515 would boost the backup Skylab station into orbit somewhere between January 1975 and April 1976. It would serve as a space station for Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft in the context of the Apollo ASTP mission. The Advanced or International Skylab variants proposed use of Saturn V SA-514 to launch a second workshop module and international payloads. This station would be serviced first by Apollo and Soyuz, then by the space shuttle. Using the existing hardware, these options would cost anywhere from $ 220 to $ 650 million. But funds were not forthcoming. The decision was taken to mothball surplus hardware in August 1973. In December 1976, the boosters and spacecraft were handed over to museums. The opportunity to launch an International Space Station, at a tenth of the cost and twenty years earlier, was lost.



Spacecraft: Skylab.

1969 July 1 - .
1969 August 8 - .
1969 September 5 - .
1969 September 11 - . LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1970 March 15 - .
1970 April 7 - .
1970 May 14 - .
1970 September 4 - .
1972 December 7 - .
1973 March 19 - .
1974 January 3 - .
1975 January 1 - .

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