Skylab was the first American space station, launched by NASA on 14 May 1973.
The station was built from the third stage of a Saturn V rocket, which engineers converted into a large orbital workshop. During launch, a micrometeoroid shield tore away and damaged one solar array; astronauts on the first crewed mission repaired the station and deployed a replacement sunshade.
Three crews visited Skylab between May 1973 and February 1974. Skylab 4 established the station’s longest occupancy, lasting 84 days. Crews studied the Sun, Earth, human physiology, and the effects of weightlessness.
NASA planned additional missions, but delays to the Space Shuttle meant the station eventually re-entered the atmosphere on 11 July 1979. Debris fell across parts of Western Australia, though no one was injured.