yesNASAAnd the first time between 1973 and 1979space stationPlan.From 1973 to 1974, three groups of astronauts went to the Skylab space station for experiments.
The former Soviet Union launched the world's first testSpace StationTwo years after Salute 1, on May 14, 1973, the United States successfully launched its "Skylab", which is the space station.
The Skylab project was launched in ApolloMoon landing planIt is mainly developed by using the remaining means of delivery and equipment after the Apollo moon landing program and the accumulated technical achievements.[1]
In 1972, shortly after the end of the "Apollo" program, Nixon, the then President of the United States, announced the approval of the "Skylab" program to the whole country, and talked about the goal of the program: "Skylab" is not to promotethe outer spaceThe purpose of deep exploration is to acquire new knowledge about space to improve life on earth.It will help to develop new methods for studying the earth's resources and protecting and increasing global resources.It will further gain new knowledge about our star, the sun, and the tremendous impact the sun has on our environment.[2]
launch
Skylab Program
The launch of Skylab was carried out in two steps.The first step is to use "Saturn 5"Carrier rocketThe assembled track workshopSolar telescope、Transition cabinAnd multi-purpose docking module to a 435km high circleEarth orbit；The second step is to use the "Saturn 1B" carrier rocket to send the "Apollo" spacecraft with three astronauts to space, and then dock with the multi-purpose docking module after the human orbit to form a complete "sky laboratory".So the astronauts of the Apollo spacecraft entered the orbital workshop and began space science experiments.After the work is completed, it will return to the spacecraft, and then the Apollo spacecraft will carry three astronauts to separate from the multi-purpose docking module, and then it will return to the ground in the atmosphere after it leaves the orbit.A total of three batches of nine astronauts entered the Skylab to work: the first batch of three astronauts went to work in the Skylab by spaceship for 28 days on May 25, 1973;Then, on July 28 and November 6, two groups of astronauts went to the "Skylab" by spaceship to work for 59 days and 84 days respectivelybiomedical science、solar astronomy , earth resource survey, space processing and other comprehensive observations and experiments, especially focusing on the study of human responses and changes under long-term weightlessness.[1]
crash
After the third batch of astronauts returned to the ground in February 1974, the Skylab was deactivated and crashed on July 11, 1979.
After the crash of this "sky laboratory", the United States did not launch a space station for a long time, which made it impossible to carry out long-term manned space flight and various space science experiments for more than 30 years, and made the United States lose a lot of time in this field and fall far behind the former Soviet Union.Why is this?It is not that the United States has different views on the development of space stations from the former Soviet Union, nor that the United States has technical problems, but that the United States has adopted a route different from the former Soviet Union's construction of space stations.What the former Soviet Union adopted wasManned spaceflightThe spacecraft will go directly to the construction of the space station through the one-time delivery and launch system;What the United States wants to do is to use reusablespace shuttleFor transportation and then for space station construction.The United States believes that it is too expensive and economically uneconomical to use disposable delivery systems for transportation and construction of its huge space station;It is advisable to use reusable space shuttles as transportation vehicles to build space stations.However, it backfired. Due to the delay of the development plan of the space shuttle, the space station plan had to be postponed;And practice has proved that the cost of using the space shuttle as a means of transport is not lower than that of disposable means of transport.When the former Soviet Union used space stations to conduct extensive space science research for more than 20 consecutive years, the space stations in Earth orbit of the United States were still vacant.[1]
Structure composition
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"Skylab" is a multi compartment combination, and its main structure is composed of track workshopSolar telescope, transition module, multi-purpose docking module and command service module of Apollo spacecraft, with a total orbital length of 36 meters, a total weight of 82 tons and a working capacity of 316 cubic meters.The orbital workshop is the main working and living cabin of astronauts, which is modified from the third stage of the "Saturn 5" rocket. The liquid hydrogen tank of the rocket is changed into the living and working area of astronauts, and is divided into bedrooms, dining rooms, observation rooms and washrooms by partitions.In the track workshop, the room temperature is kept between 16 ℃ and 32 ℃, which can be adjusted;The cabin contains 0.35 atmospheres of pure oxygen, which is exhaled by astronautscarbon dioxideAnd water vapor is eliminated by molecular sieve.The workshop shell is 13cm thick, of which 6cm thick aluminum protective plate is used to prevent the damage of particle radiation to astronauts.The solar telescope is used to observe the sun and transmit the sun image and data to the ground for processing by using the television transmission system.The command service module of "Apollo" spaceship was refitted from "Apollo" spaceship and used as a space ferry for astronauts to travel between heaven and earth and transport materials.[1]
basic task
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From 1963 to 1966, Langley Space Center willMcDonnell Douglas The preliminary design of the manned orbit research laboratory was carried out with Boeing.In 1967, NASA Marshall Space Center independently proposed a space station plan as part of the "Apollo" application plan.In order to emphasize the problem of saving money, Marshall Center proposed to use as many parts and technologies of the "Apollo" program as possible, which is also conducive to accelerating the progress.This project later evolved into the "Skylab" project.In 1972, President Nixon announced that the United States would give priority to the development of reusable space shuttles, which made it possible for NASA to develop low-cost sky laboratories while devoting most of its human and financial resources to space shuttles.
The "Skylab" program has two purposes: on the one hand, as a transitional link of the future space station program, it is experimental;On the other hand, scientists feel that the Apollo program did not achieve satisfactory results from the perspective of scientific research.Therefore, the Skylab project is entrusted with four basic tasks: fully observing and studying the sun;Carry out long-term biomedical research;Detailed survey of the earth's resources;Carry out more comprehensive engineering technology experiments.From the perspective of these tasks, Mugong mainly benefits from science and technology, which is not as risky as the "Apollo" plan."Skylab" is a design concept that emphasizes the use of existing hardware and technology, instead of the past argument of high capital investment.This shows that in the early 1970s, the United States had adjusted its space policy to a more realistic and not purely political position.[2]
