Skylab
Status - De-Orbited
Details
Skylab was a United States space station launched and operated by NASA, and occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974 – the only space station the U.S. has operated exclusively. In 1979 it fell back to Earth amid huge worldwide media attention. Skylab included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems necessary for crew survival and scientific experiments. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a weight of 170,000 pounds (77,000 kg). Lifting Skylab into low earth orbit was the final mission and launch of a Saturn V rocket (famous for carrying the manned Moon landing missions). Three missions delivered three-astronaut crews in the Apollo command and service module (Apollo CSM), launched by the smaller Saturn IB rocket. For the final two manned missions to Skylab, a backup Apollo CSM/Saturn IB was assembled and made ready in case an in-orbit rescue mission was needed, but this backup vehicle was never flown.
Agencies
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Government
Acting Administrator: James Free
NASA 1958The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Falcon 9
Sentinel-6B
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAThe Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich (launched November 2020) and Sentinel-6B make up the Sentinel-6 mission, also known as Jason Continuity of Service (…
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 6-85
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 6-89
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USAA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Atlas V 551
ViaSat-3 F2 (ViaSat-3 EMEA)
Space Launch Complex 41 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAThe ViaSat-3 is a series of three Ka-band satellites is expected to provide vastly superior capabilities in terms of service speed and flexibility fo…
New Glenn
EscaPADE
Launch Complex 36A - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USASecond flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn launch vehicle carrying the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE), a dual-spacecr…
