Celebrate the success and legacy of the nation’s first space station at Space Center Houston! This year marks the 50th anniversary of Skylab, launched in 1973 atop a Saturn V rocket. Skylab paved the way for what would be the International Space Station!
Guests will be able to enjoy activities commemorating Skylab and its impact, including access to explore the Skylab trainer, hands-on science activities, panel presentations and the unboxing of Skylab artifacts.
Interested in an elevated evening saluting Skylab? Get tickets for our after-hours Skylab celebration on May 19!
Featured activities
Astronaut Presentations | Space Center Theater
- 11:30 a.m. & 1:20 p.m. | Astronaut Mark Polansky
Panel Discussions | Mission Briefing Center
- 12 p.m. | Skylab: Get to Know America’s First Space Station
- Moderator: Dr. Jennifer Ross-Nazzal
- Panelists: Denny Holt, Captain Bob Crippen, Dr. Story Musgrave
- 2 p.m. | Skylab: A Day on America’s First Space Station
- Moderator: Phil Engelauf
- Panelists: Vickie Kloeris, Frank Hughes, Captain Bob Crippen, Jack Knight
- 3:30 p.m. | Skylab: What did we Learn?
- Moderator: Herb Baker
- Panelists: Bill Reeves, Dr. Helen Lane, Dr. Story Musgrave
Admission
This celebration is included in general admission. Members receive free general admission. Not yet a Space Center Houston member? Become a member now to receive discounts on tickets to special events, free general admission and other exclusive benefits.
Plan your visit
About Skylab
The Skylab Program led to new microgravity-based scientific and technological research and was an important stepping stone for the construction, operation and use of the current space station design. Special toilets, sleeping bags, exercise equipment and kitchen facilities were all designed to function in microgravity based on what we learned from Skylab.
“When we started the Skylab Program we had to make a lot of guesses about the best way to operate in space. Everything from how to plan the day, to how to have the crew exercise, to how to operate instruments on a human-occupied spacecraft. We owe so much to the pioneering crews, the operations teams on the ground and the scientists that paved the way. Skylab helped us define the problems for long-duration spaceflight, and now the International Space Station is solving them one by one.”
Julie Robinson, Ph.D., International Space Station Program Scientist
