Skylab B

Skylab B was a concept for a second U.S. space station on the same basic principle as Skylab. It was planned by NASA for various purposes, mainly for the Apollo -Soyuz Test Project ( ASTP ) was abandoned due to financing problems. McDonnell Douglas built in 1970 for the two Skylab Skylab program, originally the Apollo Application Program. The first was launched in 1973 in space. The second was stored and called Skylab B.

Plans

Many plans for Skylab B included to put the station in a state in which an artificial gravity was created. There were also considerations for the 200th anniversary of the United States to launch two Soviet Soyuz missions to the replacement Skylab in 1976.

When the ASTP was initiated in 1972, the NASA Skylab B would start in 1975 during the ASTP mission. The plan was a docking maneuver between the Apollo and the Soyuz spacecraft as well as the execution of previously scheduled operations. Then Skylab B should be served, which was called during the discussion about ASTP " International Skylab ". There, the mission should be extended to 56-90 days.

For the future, there were plans to make the station from 1981 by the Space Shuttle expand after the first Skylab 1979 would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. At this time, as was discussed this idea, NASA still had two Saturn V rockets, three Saturn -1B rocket, Skylab B, three Apollo spacecraft and two lunar modules in stock.

After Skylab was launched in May 1973 rejected one plan for Skylab B. When, therefore, the ASTP docking module for experiments had to be used. After the Apollo program ended and NASA began to develop the Space Shuttle, the excess part of Apollo were donated to museums in December 1976. Had started Skylab B as intended, this would have been the second own space station, which was built by the United States.

Skylab B is now in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC be visited.