Editing Skylab 4 (section)

{{Short description|Third crewed mission to Skylab}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
 |name                  = Skylab 4
 |image                 = Skylab and Earth Limb - GPN-2000-001055.jpg
 |image_size            = 250px
 |image_caption         = The final view of [[Skylab]], from the departing mission 4 crew<!--, with Earth in the background-->
 |insignia              = Skylab3-Patch.png
 |insignia_caption      = Due to a NASA management error, crewed Skylab mission patches were designed in conflict with the official mission numbering scheme.
 |mission_type          = 
 |operator              = [[NASA]]
 |COSPAR_ID             = 1973-090A
 |SATCAT                = 6936
 |mission_duration      = 84&nbsp;days, 1&nbsp;hour, 15&nbsp;minutes, 30&nbsp;seconds
 |orbits_completed      = 1214
 |distance_travelled    = {{convert|55500000|km|abbr=on|sp=us}}
 |spacecraft            = [[Apollo command and service module|Apollo CSM]]-118
 |manufacturer          = [[Rockwell International|North American Rockwell]]
 |launch_mass           = {{convert|20847|kg|abbr=on}}
 |landing_mass          =
 |launch_date           = {{start-date|November 16, 1973, 14:01:23|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;[[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]
 |launch_rocket         = [[Saturn IB]] SA-208
 |launch_site           = [[Kennedy Space Center|Kennedy]] [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39|LC-39B]]
 |landing_date          = {{end-date|February 8, 1974, 15:16:53|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC
 |landing_site          = {{coord|31|18|N|119|48|W|type:event}}
 |recovery_by           = {{USS|New Orleans|LPH-11|6}}
 |orbit_epoch           = January 21, 1974<ref name=satcat>{{cite web|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|title=SATCAT|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt|publisher=Jonathan's Space Pages|access-date=March 23, 2014}}</ref>
 |orbit_reference       = [[geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
 |orbit_regime          = [[low Earth orbit|Low Earth]]
 |orbit_periapsis       = {{convert|422|km|abbr=on|sp=us}}
 |orbit_apoapsis        = {{convert|437|km|abbr=on|sp=us}}
 |orbit_inclination     = 50.04&nbsp;degrees
 |orbit_period          = 93.11&nbsp;minutes
 |apsis                 = gee
 |docking               = 
 {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
   |docking_target     = Skylab
   |docking_type       = dock
   |docking_port       = Forward
   |docking_date       = November 16, 1973, 21:55:00&nbsp;UTC
   |undocking_date     = February 8, 1974, 02:33:12&nbsp;UTC
   |time_docked        = 83&nbsp;days, 4&nbsp;hours, 38&nbsp;minutes, 12&nbsp;seconds
 }}
 |crew_size             = 3
 |crew_members          = {{Unbulleted list
  |[[Gerald P. Carr]]
  |[[Edward Gibson|Edward G. Gibson]]
  |[[William R. Pogue]]
}}
 |crew_EVAs             = 4
 |crew_EVA_time         = 
 |crew_photo            = Skylab4 crew.jpg
 |crew_photo_caption    = Left to right: Carr, Gibson and Pogue
 |previous_mission      = [[Skylab 3]]
 |programme             = [[Skylab]] program
}}

'''Skylab 4''' (also '''SL-4''' and '''SLM-3'''<ref name=numbering>{{cite web |url=http://williampogue.com/skylab-numbering-mixup.html |title=Skylab Numbering Fiasco |access-date=February 7, 2009 |year=2007 |work=Living in Space |publisher=William Pogue Official WebSite |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202194734/http://williampogue.com/skylab-numbering-mixup.html |url-status=live |archive-date=February 2, 2009}}</ref>) was the third crewed [[Skylab]] mission and placed the third and final [[human spaceflight|crew]] aboard the first American [[space station]].

The mission began on November 16, 1973, with the launch of [[Gerald P. Carr]], [[Edward Gibson]], and [[William R. Pogue]] in an [[Apollo command and service module]] on a [[Saturn IB]] rocket from the [[Kennedy Space Center]], Florida,<ref name=thrkie>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MDJWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=l-cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2398%2C3622960 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |title='Three happy rookies' off on longest space voyage |date=November 16, 1973 |page=1A}}</ref> and lasted 84 days, one hour and 16 minutes. A total of 6,051 astronaut-utilization hours were tallied by the Skylab 4 astronauts performing scientific experiments in the areas of medical activities, solar observations, Earth resources, observation of the [[Comet Kohoutek]] and other experiments.

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