It may sound unusual, but it is what happened: a new space station is launched, loses its heat shield in seconds, and starts cooking under the sun. Engineers rescue it with a parasol made of fishing rods and foil-like fabric. Skylab, America’s first space station, launched May 14, 1973, and ran into trouble almost immediately, according to a NASA history account published by the agency’s Johnson Space Center. What followed was an ingenious rescue job in the history of space flight.A launch that went wrong within secondsSkylab was intended as a scientific laboratory in space, where astronauts would study the sun, the Earth, and the human body in zero gravity. However, during its launch, aerodynamic pressure ripped off its micrometeoroid shield that also served as thermal protection for the station. That was not all: pieces of the torn shield jammed one solar panel, while the other was ripped off entirely. The station reached orbit, but was starved of power and was now overheating.133420057The station was baking under the sunWithout the shielding system, Skylab had no protection from the sun’s direct heat. According to the NASA report, temperatures in the workshop reached an estimated 125 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Such temperatures would damage scientific films, spoil food, and even make the insulation of the station decompose and release toxic gases. NASA was initially planning to send its first crew on board only one day after launch. Instead, mission managers delayed the launch twice, first for five days, then another five, to allow engineers to work out how to cool the station before anyone could enter it.Engineers had days, not months, to build a fixTeams at Johnson Space Center in Texas and Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama worked quickly on a solution. There were three alternatives for sunshades that they had considered. In two of them, astronauts would have to undertake very dangerous space walks. However, the third option could be deployed through a small airlock from inside the station, without a spacewalk. NASA opted for the third alternative initially, since it was quicker and safer to test. In a technical paper, NASA engineer Jack A. Kinzler, who designed the parasol, describes how he and his team built and tested the entire system in six days of round-the-clock work.A sunshade made of fishing rods and foilIn his article, Kinzler says his colleagues sewed together a 22-by-24-foot fabric made from nylon, Mylar, and aluminum, then attached it to four spring-loaded fishing rods. The assembly folded into a container just eight inches square and 53 inches long, small enough to fit under the astronauts' seats in the Apollo capsule. Professional parachute riggers packed the parasol for reliable deployment in space. A separate NASA research memo on the parasol’s material later tested how the nylon-and-Mylar fabric held up under simulated solar radiation. The memo states the material could have been enough for the entire planned life of the station.133420081Getting inside was its own battleCommander Charles Pete Conrad, Pilot Paul Weitz, and Science Pilot Joseph Kerwin launched on May 25, 1973, eleven days after Skylab's rough start, and tried to dock eight times before succeeding. After docking, the crew spent their first night in the Apollo Command Module rather than entering the hot workshop right away. The next day, May 26, they entered Skylab and found the workshop extremely hot for comfortable operation; thus, they could only move in spurts, retreating to the colder command module. Conrad then deployed the parasol through the airlock, pushing the folded assembly outside, where the spring-loaded rods extended automatically and spread the fabric across the station's exterior. It was not the neatest installation, with some of the fabric bunched up, but it worked. The same NASA account confirms that the temperature in the workshop started to drop almost immediately.The story did not end with the parasolThe parasol fixed the heat problem, but Skylab still lacked power because of the malfunctioning solar wing. On June 7, 1973, nearly two weeks after the mission started, Conrad and Kerwin did an EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity), removing the metal strap that was preventing the solar panel from deploying. After these issues were resolved, the crew completed a record 28-day mission, and two more crews lived and worked aboard Skylab until the program ended.Why this story still matters todayMore than fifty years later, the Skylab rescue remains a well-known example of quick engineering. There was little time for elaborate testing or backup plans. A small team took what was available, fishing rods, fabric, and a scientific airlock never meant for this us, and made something that worked the first time. It is worth remembering that the mission was saved by a handful of engineers, a sewing machine, and six sleepless days.
