File:Skylab (SL-4).jpg

Summary
An overhead view of the Skylab Orbital Workshop in Earth orbit as photographed from the Skylab 4 Command and

Service Modules (CSM) during the final fly-around by the CSM before returning home. The space station is

contrasted against the pale blue Earth. During launch on May 14, 1973, some 63 seconds into flight, the

micrometeor shield on the Orbital Workshop (OWS) experienced a failure that caused it to be caught up in the

supersonic air flow during ascent. This ripped the shield from the OWS and damaged the tie downs that secured

one of the solar array systems. Complete loss of one of the solar arrays happened at 593 seconds when the

exhaust plume from the S-II's separation rockets impacted the partially deployed solar array system. Without the

micrometeoroid shield that was to protect against solar heating as well, temperatures inside the OWS rose to 126

degrees fahrenheit. The gold "parasol" clearly visible in the photo, was designed to replace the missing

micrometeoroid shield, protecting the workshop against solar heating. The replacement solar shield was deployed

by the Skylab I crew. This enabled the Skylab Orbital Workshop to fulfill all its mission objects serving as

home to additional crews before being deorbited in 1978. [4).jpg].