Skylab was the first United States space station, launched on 14 May 1973.
NASA converted the upper stage of a Saturn IB rocket into Skylab, creating a large orbital workshop with living quarters, scientific equipment, and a solar observatory. A micrometeoroid shield and one solar panel were damaged during launch, forcing the first crew to perform urgent repairs.
Three crews visited Skylab between May 1973 and February 1974. The astronauts studied the Sun, Earth, human physiology, and the effects of extended weightlessness. The longest mission lasted 84 days, a United States endurance record at the time.
Skylab was not the world’s first space station: the Soviet Union launched Salyut 1 in 1971. Skylab reentered Earth’s atmosphere in July 1979, scattering debris over parts of Australia and the Indian Ocean.