Skylab 2 (also SL-2 and SLM-1) was the first manned mission to Skylab, the first U.S. orbital space station. The mission was launched on a Saturn 1B rocket and carried a three-person crew to the station. The name Skylab 2 also refers to the vehicle used for that mission. The Skylab 2 mission established a record for human spaceflight duration. Furthermore, its crew were the first space station occupants ever to return safely to Earth - the only other space station occupants, the crew of the 1971 Soyuz 11 mission that had manned the Salyut 1 station, were killed during reentry.

The manned Skylab missions were officially designated Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Miscommunication about the numbering resulted in the mission emblems reading Skylab I, Skylab II, and Skylab 3 respectively

(Fourth Space Flight) Pilot:

(First Space Flight) Science Pilot:

Backup Crew:
Commander: Russell L. Schweickart
Pilot: Bruce McCandless II
Science Pilot: F. Story Musgrave

Support Crew:
Robert L. Crippen
Richard H. Truly
Henry W. Hartsfield Jr.
William E. Thornton

The Skylab Space Missions

Study Research

Science Research

Science Research

Science Theories

Designed by Nigel G Wilcox

Pages within this section: Skylab 01-04