Editing Skylab 2 (section)

{{short description|First crewed mission to Skylab}}
{{about|the first crewed mission to Skylab|the backup Skylab space station|Skylab B|the NASA L2 space station concept|Skylab II|other uses|Skylab Two (disambiguation){{!}}Skylab Two}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = Skylab 2
| image              = 40 Years Ago, Skylab Paved Way for International Space Station.jpg
| image_caption      = Skylab, seen from the departing Skylab 2 spacecraft
| insignia           = Skylab1-Patch.png
| insignia_caption   = Mission patch. Due to a NASA management error, crewed Skylab mission patches were designed in conflict with the official mission numbering scheme.
| mission_type       = Crewed mission to [[Skylab]]
| operator           = [[NASA]]
| mission_duration   = 28&nbsp;days, 49&nbsp;minutes, 49&nbsp;seconds
| orbits_completed   = 404
| distance_travelled = {{cvt|18500000|km|mi nmi}}
| spacecraft         = [[Apollo Command/Service Module|Apollo CSM]]-116
| manufacturer       = [[Rockwell International|North American Rockwell]]
| launch_mass        = {{cvt|19979|kg}}
| launch_date        = {{End date|1973|05|25|13|00|00|Z}}
| launch_rocket      = [[Saturn IB]] SA-206
| launch_site        = [[Kennedy Space Center|Kennedy]], [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39|LC-39B]]
| landing_date       = {{End date|1973|06|22|13|49|48|Z}}
| landing_site       = {{coord|24|45|N|127|2|W|type:event}}
| recovery_by        = {{USS|Ticonderoga|CV-14|6}}
| orbit_epoch        = June 4, 1973<ref name="satcat">{{Cite web |last=McDowell |first=Jonathan |title=SATCAT |url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt |access-date=March 23, 2014 |publisher=Jonathan's Space Pages}}</ref>
| orbit_reference    = [[Geocentric orbit]]
| orbit_regime       = [[Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_periapsis    = {{cvt|428|km|mi nmi}}
| orbit_apoapsis     = {{cvt|438|km|mi nmi}}
| orbit_inclination  = 50°
| orbit_period       = 93.2&nbsp;minutes
| apsis              = gee
| docking            = {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
   | docking_target     = [[Skylab]]
   | docking_type       = dock
   | docking_port       = Forward
   | docking_date       = May 26, 1973, 09:56&nbsp;UTC
   | undocking_date     = May 26, 1973, 10:45&nbsp;UTC
   | time_docked        = 49&nbsp;minutes<ref name="chronMay26">{{Cite book |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4011/part3c.htm |title=Skylab: A Chronology |publisher=NASA |chapter=PART III: Skylab Development and Operations: February 1970-November 1974 (continued) |access-date=March 26, 2023}}</ref>
 }}
 {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
   | docking_target     = Skylab
   | docking_type       = dock
   | docking_port       = Forward
   | docking_date       = May 26, 1973, 15:50&nbsp;UTC<ref name="chronMay26" />
   | undocking_date     = June 22, 1973, 08:58&nbsp;UTC<ref name="Gatland">{{Cite book |last=Gatland |first=Kenneth |title=Manned Spacecraft |publisher=MacMillan |year=1976 |isbn=0-02-542820-9 |edition=Second |location=New York |page=223}}</ref>
   | time_docked        = 26&nbsp;days, 11&nbsp;hours, 2&nbsp;minutes
 }}
| crew_size          = 3
| crew_members       = {{Unbulleted list
  |[[Pete Conrad]]
  |[[Joseph P. Kerwin]]
  |[[Paul J. Weitz]]
}}
| crew_EVAs          = 3
| crew_EVA_duration  = 5&nbsp;hours, 41&nbsp;minutes
| crew_photo         = Skylab 2 crew.jpg
| crew_photo_caption = From left: [[Joseph P. Kerwin|Kerwin]], [[Pete Conrad|Conrad]] and [[Paul J. Weitz|Weitz]]
| programme          = [[Skylab]] program
| previous_mission   = [[Skylab#Completion and launch|Skylab 1]]
| next_mission       = [[Skylab 3]]
}}

'''Skylab 2''' (also '''SL-2''' and '''SLM-1'''<ref name="Skylab Numbering Fiasco">{{Cite web |year=2007 |title=Skylab Numbering Fiasco |url=http://williampogue.com/skylab-numbering-mixup.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202194734/http://williampogue.com/skylab-numbering-mixup.html |archive-date=February 2, 2009 |access-date=February 7, 2009 |website=Living in Space |publisher=William Pogue Official WebSite |df=mdy-all}}</ref>) was the first [[human spaceflight|crewed]] mission to [[Skylab]], the first American orbital [[space station]]. The mission was launched on an [[Apollo command and service module]] by a [[Saturn IB]] rocket on May 25, 1973,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Skylab 2 (1973) |url=https://texasarchive.org/2015_01854 |access-date=November 29, 2019 |website=Texas Archive of the Moving Image}}</ref> and carried NASA astronauts [[Pete Conrad]], [[Joseph P. Kerwin]], [[Paul J. Weitz]] to the station. The name Skylab 2 also refers to the vehicle used for that mission. The Skylab 2 mission established a twenty-eight-day record for human spaceflight duration. Its crew was the first space station occupants ever to return safely to Earth – the only previous space station occupants, the crew of the 1971 [[Soyuz 11]] mission that had crewed the [[Salyut 1]] station for twenty-four days, died upon reentry due to unexpected cabin [[depressurization]].

The crewed Skylab missions were officially designated Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Miscommunication about the numbering resulted in the mission emblems reading "Skylab I", "Skylab II", and "Skylab 3" respectively.<ref name="Skylab Numbering Fiasco" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pogue |first=William |title=Naming Spacecraft: Confusion Reigns |url=http://www.collectspace.com/resources/naming_spacecraft.html |access-date=April 24, 2011 |publisher=collectSPACE}}</ref>