Skylab

[ skahy-lab ]

noun

1. a U.S. earth-orbiting space station that was periodically staffed by three separate crews of astronauts and remained in orbit 1973–79.

Skylab

/ ˈskaɪˌlæb /

noun

1. a US space station launched in May 1973 into an orbit inclined at 50° to the equatorial plane at a mean altitude of 430 kilometres (270 miles), the astronauts working there under conditions of zero gravity. It disintegrated, unmanned, in 1979, with some parts landing in the outback of Australia

Word History and Origins

Origin of Skylab¹

C20: from sky + lab ( oratory )

Example Sentences

Skylab launched in May 1973, hosting four crews of astronauts that year and the next.

From Science News

NASA’s 77-ton Skylab space station was something of a wake-up call—its widely watched uncontrolled deorbit in 1979 led to large debris hitting Western Australia.

From MIT Technology Review

Power for Skylab, Science News, July 4, 1970The largest solar cell array system for electrical power ever devised for a spacecraft is now being completed….

From Science News