User:Ke4roh/Skylab 4 human factors
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The launch of the U.S. space station Skylab, in 1973, marked NASA’s transition from the lunar competition to the orbiting space laboratory. The first crewed mission, Skylab 2, was 28 days in duration, which was twice as long as any previous American mission. Skylab 3 doubled this record, to 59 days.[2] At 84 days, Skylab 4 extended the duration record by almost one more month. None of the crew had been to space before.[3]
Mission Control planned extra work for the rookie crew,[4] and placed considerable faith in measures to hasten their adaptation to working in space.[5] The crew's days were scheduled at rates near the ending rate of the previous crew.[6] The three-man crew, Commander Gerald P. Carr, Science Pilot Edward G. Gibson, and Pilot William R. Pogue fell behind the aggressive schedule[7] and worked through several planned days off.[8] Other factors likely also contributed to crew frustration.[9] The crew pushed back and got some schedule relief mid-December,[10] then described their rest days as not especially restful near new year.[6] Mission Control created a "shopping list" of tasks that could be worked any time, and allowed for a genuine rest day on January 10, and the mission proceeded smoothly afterward.[11][12]
Though author H.S.F. Cooper, two years after the mission, interpreted events as a "strike" or "rebellion,"[13]: 111 astronauts,[14]: 357 [15]: 166 doctors,[16][17] mission controllers,[18][14]: 359 [14]: 361 and authors[19][20] have disputed that characterization. This mission has been raised as case study in various fields of endeavor including space medicine, team management, and psychology. Man-hours in space were, and continued to be into the 21st century, profoundly expensive; a single day on Skylab was worth about $22.4 million in 2017 dollars.[21] Difficulties on this mission also affected the planning of future space missions, especially long-term missions.[22]