Skylab B was a proposed second US

space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...

similar to Skylab that was planned to be launched by NASA for different purposes, mostly involving the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, but was canceled due to lack of funding. Two Skylab modules were built in 1970 by McDonnell Douglas for the Skylab program, originally the Apollo Applications Program. The first was launched in 1973 and the other put in storage, while NASA considered how to use the remaining assets from Apollo. One considered option was to use Saturn V SA-515 to launch the backup Skylab station into orbit sometime between January 1975 and April 1976. That way, it could expand the Apollo–Soyuz mission by 56–90 days. Further proposals were made for an International Skylab, launched using Saturn V SA-514. This station would have been serviced by Apollo, Soyuz and later by the Space Shuttle. The vision of a international space station would not be realized until two decades later.

Potential uses

Some uses considered for the second Skylab module included putting it into a rotation mode where it could generate artificial gravity and a plan to celebrate the 1976 United States Bicentennial with the launch of two Soviet Soyuz missions to the back-up Skylab. In preparation for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, McDonnell Douglas proposed a massive station by combining a Salyut station with Skylab B. This would be achieved by launching an Apollo with a multiple docking adapter with 4 docking ports to be able to dock both stations and servicing vehicles (Soyuz and Apollo). The joint US-USSR mission would have possibly been called International Skylab. Modifications would have had to have been made to the Skylab B to support a mixed oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere to match the Salyut's atmosphere, or an airlock would have been needed to be installed to allow passage between the mixed atmosphere of the Soviet segment to the pure oxygen environment of the American segment. For future missions, the station, which would have then been called the Advanced Skylab, could have been expanded by the Space Shuttle, which was due to enter service in 1979. At the time (1973) the idea was discussed, NASA still had two Saturn V launchers (SA-514 and SA-515), three

Saturn IB The Saturn IB (also known as the uprated Saturn I) was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Apollo program. It uprated the Saturn I by replacing the S-IV second stage (, ...

boosters (SA-209, SA-210, SA-211), the back-up Skylab space station (Skylab B), three Apollo CSMs (CSM-117, CSM-118 and CSM-119) and two

Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed ...

s in storage (LM-13, LM-14). However, after the first Skylab was launched in May 1973, the plan for the Skylab B was canceled and the Apollo/Soyuz spacecraft had to use the Docking Module launched on the Apollo-Saturn IB for performing experiments in space. After Project Apollo ended and as NASA was moving to developing the Space Shuttle, the remaining Apollo hardware was donated to museums in 1976.

Possible crew

It was expected at the time by those involved that the initial crew would be the crew which served as backup for Skylab 3 and Skylab 4, and was kept in reserve for the Skylab Rescue mission (minus the science pilot):

Existing hardware

Apollo CSM

The Apollo Command Module CSM-119 was originally used for Skylab Rescue. File:CSM-119 Skylab Rescue.jpg, CSM-119 on display at Kennedy Space Center

Saturn IB

Saturn IB SA-209 was originally used for Skylab Rescue. Saturn IB SA-211 was unused. File:Saturn IB at KSC.jpg, Saturn IB (SA-209) at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex File:Rocket,ArdmoreWelcomeCenter.jpg, Saturn IB (SA-211) at the

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Saturn V

The Saturn V SA-514 was originally designated for canceled

Apollo 19 Several planned missions of the Apollo program, Apollo crewed Moon landing program of the 1960s and 1970s were canceled for a variety of reasons, including changes in technical direction, Apollo 1, the Apollo 1 fire, hardware delays, and budget l ...

. It was proposed for launching an International Skylab. This station would have been serviced by Apollo, Soyuz and later by the Space Shuttle. * First stage (S-IC-14) on display at

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...

, second and third stages (S-II-14, S-IVB-514) on display at Kennedy Space Center. * The S-II interstage is located at Parque de las Ciencias in

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. File:Space Centre, Houston, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (170).JPG, S-IC-14 on display at

File:IMG 9509 edited-1.JPG (7392775628) (2).jpg, S-II-14 on display at Kennedy Space Center File:SaturnVcenterStage3.JPG, S-IVB-514 on display at Kennedy Space Center Saturn V SA-515 was originally designated for

Apollo 20 Several planned missions of the Apollo crewed Moon landing program of the 1960s and 1970s were canceled for a variety of reasons, including changes in technical direction, the Apollo 1 fire, hardware delays, and budget limitations. After the la ...

, and later to launch the backup Skylab station into orbit sometime between January 1975 and April 1976. That way, it could expand the Apollo–Soyuz mission by 56–90 days. *The first stage (S-IC-15) was on display at Michoud Assembly Facility through June 2016. This was then moved to the Infinity Sciene Center in Pearlington MS. *The second stage (S-II-15) is on display at

. *The third stage (S-IVB-515) is the Skylab B Orbital Workshop on display at the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

. On display in the Museum's Space Hall since 1976, the orbital workshop has been slightly modified to permit viewers to walk through the living quarters. File:SaturnVMichoudOct2009.JPG, S-IC-15 on display at Michoud Assembly Facility File:Space Centre, Houston, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (151).JPG, S-II-15 on display at

File:Skylab B Smithsonian.jpg, Skylab B Orbital Workshop (S-IVB-515) at the

File:Skylab Latrine.jpg, The waste management facilities in Skylab B (S-IVB-515) at the

. File:Skylab mockup Smithsonian NASM.jpg, A mannequin astronaut models dining aboard the Skylab B (S-IVB-515) at the NASM.

Airlock Module

An Airlock Module is on display at the

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. File:Skylab Airdock Module (6586684165) (5).jpg, Skylab Airdock Module in the

. The EVA Hatch is actually based on a Gemini hatch.

Training mockups

A full-size

mockup In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''prototype'' if it provides at leas ...

once used for astronaut training is located at the

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...

visitor's center in

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. Another full-size training mockup is at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Originally displayed indoors, it was subsequently stored outdoors for several years to make room for other exhibits. To mark the 40th anniversary of the Skylab program, the Orbital Workshop portion of the trainer was restored and moved into the Davidson Center in 2013. File:Neutral Buoyancy Space Simulator.jpg, Original trainer at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, before display at the

US Space & Rocket Center The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama is a museum operated by the government of Alabama, showcasing rockets, achievements, and artifacts of the U.S. space program. Sometimes billed as "Earth's largest space museum", astronaut Ow ...

Multiple Docking Adapter

Multiple Docking Adapter is on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. File:Florida by Piotrus 202.JPG, Multiple Docking Adapter at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

References

* Frieling, Thomas J, ''Quest'', "Skylab B: Unflown Missions, Lost Opportunities", 1996, Volume 5, Issue 4, page 12.

External links

Skylab B (Astronautix)Skylab B experiment program rationale (1970)
{{NASA space program Cancelled space stations Cancelled American spacecraft Skylab program Individual spacecraft in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution