Skylab 4 Launches for the Final Skylab Expedition
Skylab 4 launched on November 16, 1973, carrying Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue.
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The Event
Skylab 4 launched on November 16, 1973, carrying Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue. They would conduct the final crewed expedition to America's first space station.
The Wider Story
The mission combined solar observations, studies of Earth and experiments on long-duration life in orbit. Its lengthy stay helped build experience needed for later space stations.
Putting the Event in Perspective
Skylab 4 was the mission name, not a fourth Skylab station.
Reading the Historical Record
The crew traveled aboard an Apollo spacecraft launched by a Saturn IB, rather than a Saturn V carrying a new station.
About the Historical Recreation
The accompanying visual is an illustrative reconstruction: a Saturn IB launching an Apollo spacecraft in 1973, then a distant Skylab above Earth. It is not authentic archival footage, an eyewitness record or additional evidence for the event.
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