Skylab

American  

[skahy-lab] / ˈskaɪˌlæb /

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.

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Skylab British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of Skylab

C20: from _sky + _lab ( _oratory )

Example Sentences

The orbit of the American space station Skylab is deteriorating; history tells us that parts of it came down in … Western Australia, in 1979.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2024

After Apollo 7, Mr. Cunningham served as chief of NASA’s Skylab program, which produced the first American space station.

From Washington Post • Jan. 5, 2023

The first American space station, Skylab, made an uncontrolled re-entry in 1979, with large chunks landing in Western Australia.

From New York Times • Jul. 30, 2022

Staff on the ground hadn't got to know this crew as well as its predecessors, because they'd been busy overseeing the first and second missions while the Skylab 4 astronauts were preparing for theirs.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2021

“It's a satellite. It isn't burning out. See? Just going in a straight line. Might be a satellite like Skylab, losing altitude. No one knows where it'll crash.”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell