00:00Skylab, short for Sky Laboratory, is the first space station launched by the space agency.
00:07American, NASA.
00:09It was developed as part of the Apollo applications program, established in 1965 to provide a follow-up
00:15Apollo program
00:16The project is launched in a context of budget cuts to US space spending, and the chosen architecture is essentially based on
00:23on the reuse of existing components.
00:25The space station is a 35-meter-long, 90-tonne structure whose module
00:31The main stage is launched from the third stage of the giant Saturn V Skylab lunar rocket and placed into orbit.
00:37May 14, 1973.
00:39During its launch, the station lost part of its thermal coating and one of its solar panels.
00:45The first crew, which joined it a few days later, first had to restore its habitability.
00:50Three crews stayed there between 1973 and 1974, the last of which, for nearly 84 days, set a new record.
00:59The astronauts conduct numerous scientific observations on board, in particular the observation of the Sun using a battery of
01:06'instruments and the study of man's adaptation to space.
01:09At the end of its missions, and due to a lack of available launchers and budget, the station was put into hibernation.
01:14while awaiting the completion of the American space shuttle currently under development.
01:17But the project schedule is falling behind, and the unexpected intensity of solar activity is deteriorating more rapidly.
01:23as predicted the orbit of the space station, which disintegrated upon entering the atmosphere on July 11, 1979.
01:29Subtitling by Radio-Canada
01:37Subtitling by Radio-Canada
