
Human Exploration
Skylab 2 (also known as SL-2 or SLM-1) was the first crewed mission to the first US orbital space station Skylab. The mission began on May 25, 1973, 13:00:00 UTC with the launch of a three-person crew. Crew members were the Commander Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr., Science Pilot Joseph P. Kerwin and Pilot Paul J. Weitz. During their 26-day stay on the station, crew performed station repairs and conducted scientific, medical experiments, gathered solar and Earth science data. The mission ended successfully with the splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on June 22, 1973, 13:49:48 UTC.
Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: SL-2, SL-3 and SL-4. Major operations included an orbital workshop, a solar observatory, Earth observation, and hundreds of experiments.
May 14, 1973 — Jul 11, 1979
Orbital Attempt
#1,457
NASA Mission
#122
Pad Launch
#2
Location Launch
#14
Designator
1973-032
May 25, 1973, 1:00 PM
1 update
The John F. Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of NASA's ten field centers. Since 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).
Timezone
America/New_York
Local Launch Time
May 25, 1973, 9:00 AM
Total Launches
281
Total Landings
0
Coordinates
28.5242, -80.6508