6 ms·
A space station fell to Earth. An Australian boy brought it to San Francisco
- 3seashells 3y agoNo mention of the sky lab mutiny, which of course never was a mutiny, because in space everyone goes full star trek.
- rob74 3y agoWell, no, that's beyond the scope of the article. It also doesn't mention e.g. the origin of the Skylab project, which was more or less "what else can we do with the hardware we developed for landing on the moon and with the people we hired for it?". But, Wikipedia to the rescue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab
- mathewsanders 3y ago> NASA management was concerned about losing the 400,000 workers involved in Apollo after landing on the Moon in 1969 400,000!
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoI didn't realize it was only occupied for 24 weeks; the ISS trounced that by err. not order of magnitude. It's been up for 25 years now.
- Magi604 3y agoWhen I was a child I had a pop up book of Skylab complete with movable panels. I played with that thing so much it basically got destroyed. In the article it mentioned that a Brazilian baby was named Skylab in the hopes that NASA would help raise it. I tried to find more info on the person but a cursory search didn't yield anything on it. I wonder how they're doing today.
- HenryBemis 3y agoIf I were your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/cousin/friend, on your next birthday I would buy you this: https://www.amazon.com/Skylab-Americas-Station-Hallmark-Pop-Up/dp/B002CZ2HXY https://www.amazon.com/Skylab-Americas-Station-Hallmark-Pop-... But since I'm not, if you can afford it (apologies I know nothing about you) I suggest you buy it. It seems like you enjoyed it, and it would "bring you joy" (a la Marie Kondo) to have this in your bookcase and go through it with any sons/daughters/nephews/nieces/etc.
- Magi604 3y agoI'm pretty sure that's the book! Thanks for the link. Interesting that it's going for that much. I might get it for my niece one day.
- lupire 3y agoMatt Parker (Standup Maths) has a Labrador retriever named Skylab.
- treyd 3y agoNice to see that he made contact again after nearly 40 years.
- ramraj07 3y agoI can't imagine a single person I've met in my life who would be as Zen as this bloke was as a kid. One wonders what engenders such quality in a person.
- aa-jv 3y agoEsperance is a hell of a place. There's a kind of void there that gets inside.
- Obscurity4340 3y agoWhat do you mean by this, kinda vague?
- boffinAudio 3y agoI've been there. It is an extremely remote place, where the locals all know each other and it is very beautiful but with some of the worlds most dangerous sharks paying regular visits to the beach. And when you look across that beach, you are literally gazing off into the horizon of the end of the Earth. There's literally nothing between Esperance and Antarctica. Its no wonder the place breeds the silent types.
- Obscurity4340 3y agoIsn't it true that you can kinda redirect or "punch" sharks in the nose to get them to fuck off?
- gosub100 3y agoNo, they are too fast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUMgSIXwFr8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUMgSIXwFr8
- Obscurity4340 3y agoIts definitely "happened" tho, no?
- samuelec 3y agoThis is a cool story
- juliangamble 3y ago> The U.S.’s Skylab embarrassment over Australia resulted in no human injuries. President Jimmy Carter apologized for the mess. The city of Esperance issued NASA a $400 littering ticket that they never paid.
- rigid 3y agodude, just pay the fine and frame the ticket.
- nashashmi 3y agoyup! fine was paid, just not by NASA.
- Anarch157a 3y agoThe fine has been paid [0]. A host for a radio station in US collected the money and paid the fine on NASAs behalf in 2019. [0]https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/skylabs-remains https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/skylabs-remains
- account42 3y ago:)
- porompompero 3y agoThen, perhaps formally that was a donation, instead of a fine?
- volemo 3y agoPor que no los dos?
- seanthemon 3y agoWith or without interest?
- petabytes 3y ago
- Obscurity4340 3y agoDidn't The Simpsons already do this?
- window90 3y ago[flagged]
- moribvndvs 3y agoThe most unbelievable element, from the vantage point of 44 years later, is getting a passport expedited in under 72 hours.
- OJFord 3y agoYou need an appointment (book min. 2 days ahead) but then you can get one there and then in the UK. I imagine this 44y ago was from a post office or similar, not mail order, too anyway?
- moribvndvs 3y agoSorry, I’m in the US. Last time it took 10 weeks.
- miesman 3y agoMy favorite was Taco Bell putting a 10’ x 10’ box off the coast of Australia and running an ad saying if Skylab hits it, everyone in the US gets a free taco.
- tjohns 3y agoI recall that promotion was for the Mir reentry (unless they did that twice)?
- seshagiric 3y agoGrowing up in India, this was a favorite story my Dad used to tell us kids. I remember sincerely wishing it fell on our school so that we'd get a holiday ! Good to know at least some kid benefited from it :)
- Johnythree 3y agoI still have a chunk of Skylab. Apparently the big oxygen tank was sawn up and small pieces potted in clear plastic with a commemorative card. A friend was passing through Esperance and bought on for me as a memento. see https://imgur.com/a/WWSVTfB https://imgur.com/a/WWSVTfB and https://imgur.com/zvVZfLr https://imgur.com/zvVZfLr It's been in my desk drawer ever since..