Space Rocket History Podcast Michael Annis

Pioneer 11 detected Saturn’s bow shock on Aug. 31, 1979, about 932,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) out from the planet, thus providing the first conclusive evidence of the existence of Saturn’s magnetic field.

This second generation of the Soyuz spacecraft, the Soyuz 7k-T was flown on Soyuz 12 through Soyuz 40 missions from 1973–1981. The new 7K-T spacecraft was designed to accommodate only two cosmonauts who would wear pressure suits at all times … Continue reading →

At this point in 1973, the Soviets were attempting to fly 2 types of space station, the long duration orbital station scientific version called DOS.  The other station was a military spy space station equipped with a machine gun, called … Continue reading →

Despite predictions, events seldom occur precisely as expected. The calculated breakup altitude of Skylab was based on its intended structural strength specifications. However, the actual vehicle was stronger than the specified strength requirements.

The official decision to proceed with the Skylab reboost mission was made on September 1st 1977, initiating a two-year preparation period for the development and production of the required hardware and systems.

Early in the planning stages of the Skylab flight, there was a desire to keep it in orbit long enough to use it as the core of a larger station.