Word: skylab
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...pride of the U.S. space program, the largest and most sophisticated vehicle ever sent into orbit. Circling the earth every 90 minutes, the 85-ton Skylab had been a scientific workshop for three teams of astronauts for a total of 172 days. But lately it has been in trouble. Unoccupied since 1974, Skylab has been losing altitude much more rapidly than expected, a change threatening it with incineration in the earth's atmosphere...
...prevent that, NASA engineers had devised a daring rescue. The new space shuttle, slated to make its first flight in September, would intercept Skylab, attach a small booster engine to one end, then fire it. Thus space planners could either raise Skylab.to a higher orbit or send it plunging harmlessly into an ocean. Last week, after weighing the chances of such an orbital operation, NASA conceded defeat. That means Skylab will expire in a meteorite-like death that could scatter parts of the space station on populated regions...
Perhaps so. But such assurances did not ease NASA'S embarrassment over the whole Skylab affair, which arose because of a scientific error about the extent of sunspot activity in the late 1970s and its effect on Skylab. By spewing out clouds of charged particles, these great solar magnetic storms help heat up and expand the earth's upper atmosphere. That creates more drag for objects in orbit, hastening their reentry. Confronted by a falling Skylab, NASA last spring began developing the $26 million booster engine. But it was clear, especially after troubles with the shuttle...
Besides eclipsing the mark of 96 days set earlier this year by two other cosmonauts aboard the same Salyut 6 space station (the U.S. record is 84 days in orbit, set by a Skylab crew in 1974), Kovalenok, a Soviet air force colonel, and Ivanchenkov, his flight engineer, chalked up other feats. They played host to two visiting ships, one carrying an East German, the other a Polish cosmonaut. Resupplied three times by remote-controlled ferry craft, they conducted extensive observations of both the heavens and earth, and performed such experiments as growing crystals for electronic components and testing...
...Skylab space station [Aug. 14] does not need to be sacrificed if we are willing to swallow our pride and ask the Soviets to attach the modest rocket boosters to Skylab that will raise it to a temporarily safe orbit. They are clearly able to do this right now, as numerous recent exploits indicate...