Earth and Space News: Alan Bean Skylab 3 commander

Showing posts with label Alan Bean Skylab 3 commander. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Fourth Moonwalker Alan Bean Did His Last EVA at Skylab Sept. 22, 1973

Summary: Fourth moonwalker Alan Bean did his last EVA at Skylab Sept. 22, 1973, during his command of the space station’s second manned mission, Skylab 3.

Alan Bean, Skylab 3 commander, is positioned for film changeout during the mission’s third and final extravehicular activity (EVA), Saturday, Sept. 22, 1973; NASA's caption notes: "Astronaut Owen K. Garriott, who took the picture, is reflected in Bean's helmet visor. The reflected Earth disk in Bean's visor is so clear that the Red Sea and Nile River area can delineated."; NASA ID sI3-122-2611: Public Domain, via NASA Images

Fourth moonwalker Alan Bean did his last EVA at Skylab Saturday, Sept. 22, 1973, during his command of Skylab 3, the second manned mission sent by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to Skylab, the first United States space station.

Alan LaVern Bean (March 15, 1932-May 26, 2018) paired with the mission’s scientist-pilot, Owen Kay Garriott (Nov. 22, 1930-April 15, 2019), for the third of three extravehicular activities (EVAs) conducted during the Skylab 3 mission. The mission’s EVA 3 numbered as the third and last career EVA, also known as spacewalk, for both Bean and Garriott.

Bean and Garriott began the spacewalk Saturday, Sept. 22, at 11:18 Coordinated Universal Time (7:18 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time). EVA 3 ended 2 hours 41 minutes later, at 13:59 UTC (9:59 a.m. EDT), Saturday, Sept. 22.

The EVA 3 objective focused on retrieving full film canisters from Skylab’s Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) and installing fresh film canisters. Owen Garriott and mission pilot Jack Robert Lousma (born Feb. 29, 1936) had been tasked with swapping film canisters during the mission’s first spacewalks, EVA 1 and EVA 2.

The Apollo Telescope Mount served as the space station’s solar observatory. The Apollo Telescope Mount included eight major instruments for solar studies. Data collected by the ATM’s instruments primarily was captured on photographic film. The Skylab 3 mission’s solar observations yielded 74,942 film frames, according to the Skylab Operations Summary by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s (NASA MSFC) Public Affairs Office (PAO).

The Apollo Telescope Mount topped the space station’s Multiple Docking Adapter (MDA) and also relied on supports from the Airlock Module (AM). The Airlock Module’s features included an airlock for extravehicular activities. The Multiple Docking Adapter provided docking ports for the Apollo Command and Service Modules (CSM) that transported the crew and cargo of NASA’s three manned missions to the Skylab space station.

The Multiple Docking Adapter also housed the command and display (C &D) console for the Apollo Telescope Mount. In Skylab: A Guidebook, published by NASA in 1973, Skylab Program Manager Leland Forrest Belew (Feb. 25, 1925-June 6, 2008) and MSFC Associate Director of Science Ernst Stuhlinger (Dec. 19, 1913-May 25, 2008) explained: “Astronaut operation of the Apollo Telescope Mount and the Skylab attitude control will be performed at the ATM Control and Display Console in the MDA. This console contains several TV screens and other visual indicators which will enable the astronauts to follow ATM activities closely and to actively participate in target selection, telescope orientation, experimental procedures, and interpretation of instrumental and visual observations” (72).

Swapping the solar observatory’s film canisters, however, necessitated a spacewalk. A long boom transferred each canister between one astronaut, positioned atop the Apollo Telescope Mount, and the second astronaut, positioned below, at the Airlock Module’s airlock door.

EVA 3’s duration of 2 hours 41 minutes tallied as the shortest of the mission’s three extravehicular activities. EVA 1, conducted from 17:30 UTC, Monday, Aug. 6 (5:30 p.m. EDT, Monday, Aug. 6), to 00:01 UTC, Tuesday, Aug. 7 (8:01 p.m. EDT, Monday, Aug. 6), was the longest, with a duration of 6 hours 31 minutes. EVA 2, performed Friday, Aug. 24, from 16:24 UTC (12:24 p.m. EDT) to 20:55 UTC (4:55 p.m. EDT), claimed the second longest duration, with a total time of 4 hours 31 minutes.

Alan Bean’s first two extravehicular activities occurred during his first spaceflight. He served as Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 12, the sixth manned flight in the United States Apollo program. The Apollo 12 mission marked the program’s second landing on the moon. The mission’s two extravehicular activities took place Wednesday, Nov. 19, and Thursday, Nov. 20, 1969. The duration of the two EVAs totaled 7 hours 45 minutes 18 seconds.

Participation in the Skylab 3 mission boosted Bean’s career spaceflights to two. Bean’s Skylab spacewalk increased his career EVA time to 10 hours 26 minutes.

The takeaway for fourth moonwalker Alan Bean doing his last EVA at Skylab Sept. 22, 1973, is that the Skylab 3 mission’s commander, whose first spaceflight and first two EVAs occurred in 1969 via the moon-landing Apollo 12 mission, added a second spaceflight and a third and final spacewalk to his NASA career via his command of NASA’s second manned mission to the Skylab space station.

Inside the Skylab space station’s Multiple Docking Adapter (MDA), Skylab 3 scientist-pilot Owen Garriott is stationed at the command and display (C & D) console for the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM); Date created 1973-08-08; NASA ID sI3-108-1288; Public Domain, via NASA Images

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Belew, Leland F.; and Ernst Stuhlinger. “Chapter IV: Skylab Design and Operation.” Skylab: A Guidebook: 61-113. NASA EP 107. Huntsville AL: George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1973.
Available via NASA History @ https://history.nasa.gov/EP-107/ch4.htm

Hitt, David; Owen Garriott; and Joe Kerwin. Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story. Featuring the In-Flight Diary of Alan Bean. Lincoln NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2008.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books/about/Homesteading_Space.html?id=sR5Cm_zeIekC

Kelly, Michelle. “Alan L. Bean Oral History Interviews.” NASA Johnson Space Center History Portal > NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. June 23, 1998.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/BeanAL/beanal.htm

Marriner, Derdriu. “Arabella and Anita Spun First Space Webs in August 1973 at Skylab.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 31, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/07/arabella-and-anita-spun-first-space.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “First Web in Space Was Spun in 1973 by Common Cross Spider Arabella.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/08/first-web-in-space-was-spun-in-1973-by.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Fourth Moonwalker Alan Bean Commanded Skylab 3 July to September 1973.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 22, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/07/fourth-moonwalker-alan-bean-commanded.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Owen Garriott and Jack Lousma Did Second EVA Aug. 24, 1973, at Skylab.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/08/owen-garriott-and-jack-lousma-did.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Skylab 3 Astronaut Wives Pranked Spouses With Unofficial Mission Patch." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 15, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/07/skylab-3-astronaut-wives-pranked.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Skylab 3 Captured Dramatic Solar Prominences in August 1973." Earth and Space News. Wednesday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/08/skylab-3-captured-dramatic-solar.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Skylab 3 Mission Patch Emphasized Earth, Sun and Medical Themes." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 8, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/07/skylab-3-mission-patch-emphasized-earth.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Skylabbers Owen Garriott and Jack Lousma First Spacewalked Aug. 6, 1973.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/08/skylabbers-owen-garriott-and-jack.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Two Mummichog Minnows Became First Fish in Space in 1973 Via Skylab 3.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 29, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/07/two-mummichog-minnows-became-first-fish.html

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Public Affairs Office. “Skylab Operations Summary.” NASA/Kennedy Space Center > Space Flight Archives > Skylab > Program Overview.
Available @ https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/skylab/skylab-operations.txt

Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer. “Alan L. Bean Oral History Interviews.” NASA Johnson Space Center History Portal > NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. Feb. 23, 2010.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/BeanAL/beanal.htm

Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer. “Jack R. Lousma Oral History Interviews.” NASA Johnson Space Center History Portal > NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. March 15, 2010.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/LousmaJR/lousmajr.htm

Rusnak, Kevin M. “Owen K. Garriott Oral History Interviews.” NASA Johnson Space Center History Portal > NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. Nov. 6, 2000.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/GarriottOK/garriottok.htm

Shayler, David J. Skylab: America’s Space Station. Springer-Praxis Books in Astronomy and Space Sciences. London, England; New York NY: Springer, 2001.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=X4WaYqQDVKwC

Whiting, Melanie. “Skylab 3: A Record 59 Days in Space.” NASA > History. Sept. 25, 2018.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/feature/skylab-3-a-record-59-days-in-space

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Skylab 3 Astronaut Wives Pranked Spouses With Unofficial Mission Patch

Summary: Skylab 3 astronaut wives pranked their spouses with an unofficial mission patch, designed as a parody of the Skylab 3 mission’s official patch.

The Skylab 3 mission crew’s wives created their own version (right) of the mission’s official patch (left): Dante Centuori @ScienceDante, via Twitter July 28, 2017

Skylab 3 astronaut wives pranked their spouses with an unofficial mission patch, which they designed to parody the original patch officially approved by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) for the second manned mission to the Skylab space station.

The Skylab 3 mission launched Saturday, July 28, 1973, at 11:10:50 Coordinated Universal Time (7:10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time), from Launch Pad 39B at Cape Kennedy (Cape Canaveral since Oct. 9, 1973) in east central Florida. The 59-day stay at Skylab, the first United States space station, ended with a northeastern Pacific Ocean splashdown Tuesday, Sept. 25, 1973, at 22:19:51 UTC (6:19 p.m. EDT).

Fourth moonwalker Alan LaVern Bean (March 15, 1932-May 26, 2018) commanded the Skylab 3 mission. Bean had walked twice on the moon, during extravehicular activities (EVAs) on two successive days, Wednesday, Nov. 19, and Thursday, Nov. 20, 1969, for the Apollo 12 mission.

The two other members of the mission’s three-astronaut crew were Owen Kay Garriott (Nov. 22, 1930-April 15, 2019) and Jack Robert Lousma (born Feb. 29, 1936), as scientist-pilot and mission pilot, respectively. The Skylab 3 mission afforded first spaceflights and first spacewalks to Garriott and Lousma.

The three astronauts’ input into the mission patch yielded a patriotic, tri-color design with the red, white and blue of the United States flag. The patch’s iconography emphasized Earth, sun and medical themes. The design centered on Italian Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci’s circle-and-square-inscribed, dynamic Vitruvian Man, modified for “family viewing.” A red, partial solar disk, alive with yellow orange flares and edged with lively solar prominences, halved the circle backdropping the male figure’s right side. The North and South American continents, resplendently framed by the Atlantic and Pacific’s blueness, claimed the half enclosing the figure’s left side.

The last names of the Skylab 3 mission’s three astronauts arched above the circle’s upper half. Black capital letters identified “Bean Garriott Lousma” as the mission’s crew.

The official patch, however, did not remain as the only Skylab 3 mission-themed patch. Mission pilot Jack Lousma recalled for Dick Lattimer’s All We Did Was Fly to the Moon (1983) the Skylab 3 mission’s “wives’ patch.” After their arrival in orbit, Bean, Garriott and Lousma discovered their wives’ version of the official mission patch affixed to three of the storage lockers in Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM) 117, the spacecraft that delivered the trio to the Skylab space station. Jack Lousma described the wives’ prank as “. . . consistent with one of our mottos, ‘Never lose your sense of humor.’”

The pranked patch differed from the official patch in its caption and central figure. The wives’ first names, Sue (Bean), Helen-Mary (Garriott), Gratia (Lousma), replaced the official patch’s last name listing of the crew, Bean, Garriot, Lousma. The male figure is redrawn as a female with lowered arms. Her inner arms rest at her sides while her outer arms hover less than halfway to shoulder height.

Houston area artist Ardis Shanks drew the unofficial patch’s female figure using her favorite model, a local girl named Cheir, according to Spacepatches.nl. Ardis Shanks gave private art lessons, and one of her students was Alan Bean. The Skylab 3 mission commander resigned from NASA in June 1981 to begin a new career, in retirement, as a painter of lunar landscapes.

Both the official and unofficial patches for the Skylab 3 mission identified the mission as Skylab II. The Skylab II caption referenced the mission’s status as NASA’s second manned mission to the Skylab space station.

Designated as SL-3, the Skylab 3 mission numbered as the third launch in the Skylab space station’s operational history. Skylab 1 (SL-1) indicated the Monday, May 14, 1973, launch of the modified Saturn V rocket carrying the Skylab space station. Skylab 2 (SL-2) and Skylab 4 (SL-4) launched Friday, May 25, 1973, and Friday, Nov. 16, 1973, as the first and third manned missions, respectively, to the space station.

In Homesteading Space (2008), spaceflight historian William David Hitt (born Aug. 7, 1975) and Skylabbers Owen Garriott and Joseph Peter “Joe” Kerwin (born Feb. 19, 1932) explained the changed numbering scheme as stemming from a communications snafu between the Skylab Project manager and NASA headquarters.

The takeaway for the Skylab 3 astronaut wives’ pranking their spouses with an unofficial mission patch is a sense of humor can trace a long trajectory, even from Earth outward into space.

Unaware that their wives’ pranked patches are already stowed in storage lockers in their space transport vehicle, Apollo CSM (Command and Service Module) 117, Alan Bean (right), Owen Garriott (middle) and Jack Lousma (left) head to their ride to the Skylab 3 mission’s launch vehicle Saturday, July 28, 1973; the mission’s official patch is affixed to the van’s open door: Public Domain, via NASA Human Spaceflight

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The Skylab 3 mission crew’s wives created their own version (right) of the mission’s official patch (left): Dante Centuori @ScienceDante, via Twitter July 28, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/ScienceDante/status/890986000897462273

chromedome (Jon Mendyk). “Dick Lattimer’s Obituary.” The Leatherwall Bowsite. Sept. 13, 2011.
Available @ http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/tf/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=228443&CATEGORY=9

Dante Centuori @ScienceDante. “Replying to @GLScienceCtr @NASAglenn and 2 others En route to Skylab, the crew got a surprise hidden in the capsule lockers: their wives made a special mission patch with their names on it!” Twitter. July 28, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/ScienceDante/status/890986000897462273

Dorr, Eugene. “Introduction.” Gene Dorr > Spaceflight Mission Patches > Introduction.
Available @ http://genedorr.com/patches/Intro.html

Dorr, Eugene. “Skylab.” Gene Dorr > Spaceflight Mission Patches > Introduction.
Available @ http://genedorr.com/patches/IndexSk.html

Dorr, Eugene. “Skylab Expedition 2.” Gene Dorr > Spaceflight Mission Patches > Introduction > Skylab.
Available @ http://genedorr.com/patches/Skylab/Sk03.html

Garriott, Owen K.; Aldo V. da Rosa; Michael J. Davis; and O.G. (Oswald Garrison) Villard Jr. “Solar Flare Effects in the Ionosphere.” JGR Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 72, issue 23 (Dec. 1, 1967): 6099-6103.
Available via Wiley Online American Geophysical Union (AGU) publications @ https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/JZ072i023p06099

Lattimer, Richard L. All We Did Was Fly to the Moon: By the Astronauts, as Told to Dick Lattimer. Gainesville FL: The Whispering Eagle Press, 1983.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Skylab 3 Mission Patch Emphasized Earth, Sun and Medical Themes.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 8, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/07/skylab-3-mission-patch-emphasized-earth.html

Shayler, David J.; and Colin Burgess. NASA’s Scientist-Astronauts. Springer-Praxis Books in Space Exploration. Chichester UK: Praxis Publishing Limited, 2007.

van Oene, Jacques Edwin; and Erik van der Hoorn. “Skylab 2 Wives Patch.” Spacepatches.nl > Patch Index > Skylab.
Available @ http://www.spacepatches.nl/skylab_frame.html

Wade, Mark. “Garriott, Owen Kay.” Astronautix > Alphabetical Index > G.
Available @ http://www.astronautix.com/g/garriott.html

Whiting, Melanie. “Skylab 3: A Record 59 Days in Space.” NASA > History. Sept. 25, 2018.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/feature/skylab-3-a-record-59-days-in-space

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Skylab 3 Mission Patch Emphasized Earth, Sun and Medical Themes

Summary: The Skylab 3 mission patch emphasized Earth, sun and medical themes in its iconography and the United States flag’s red, white and blue in its colors.

Patriotic colors of red, white and blue intentionally predominate in the Skylab 3 mission patch; a communications snafu caused the designations of Skylab's three manned missions (Skylab 2, 3, 4) without inclusion of the space station's launch (Skylab 1) into the numbering scheme: Public Domain, via NASA History

The Skylab 3 mission patch emphasized Earth, sun and medical themes in its iconography and honored the red, white and blue of the United States flag in its main color scheme.

The Skylab 3 mission launched Saturday, July 28, 1973, at 11:10:50 Coordinated Universal Time (7:10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time), as NASA’s second manned mission to Skylab, the first United States space station. The mission ended 59 days later, with splashdown Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 22:19:51 UTC (6:19 p.m. EDT) in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.

The patch’s design centered on an adaptation of a circa 1490 drawing, known as Vitruvian Man (L’Uomo Vitruviano), by Italian Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452-May 2, 1519). The artistic genius used the medium of pen and ink with wash over metalpoint on paper for his famous depiction of a nude male figure.

The drawing presents the male in two superimposed positions. The superimposition yields an eight-limbed figure of four arms and four legs sharing a head and torso. A square inscribes one position, in which the figure in closed leg stance and with arms outstretched at shoulder height. A circle circumscribes the other position, in which the figure’s legs are splayed and his outstretched arms rise above his shoulders.

The Skylab 3 mission pilot, Jack Robert Lousma (born Feb. 29, 1936), explained for Richard L. “Dick” Lattimer’s 1983 spaceflight history, All We Did Was Fly to the Moon, that the Vitruvian Man represented the mission’s “medical aspects.” Lousma noted that the patch’s illustration of Vitruvian Man modified Leonardo’s original drawing for “family viewing” suitability.

Leonardo’s drawing also features blank space within the circle and the square. Contrastingly, the Skylab 3 mission patch colored the enclosed space with a solar half and an Earth half.

Red represented the solar half, with a yellow orange flare. Lousma shared that the patch’s flare outlined the shapes of flares that the mission’s scientist-pilot, Owen Kay Garriott (Nov. 22, 1930-April 15, 2019), had extensively analyzed prior to his selection in 1965 as one of NASA’s first six scientist-astronomers.

From 1961 through 1965, Garriott taught and conducted research in ionospheric physics as assistant, and then associate, professor at his alma mater, California’s Stanford University. (Solar radiation ionizes the ionosphere by negatively or positively charging the layer’s atoms and molecules. NASA places the ionosphere’s stretch from approximately 48 kilometers, or 30 miles, above Earth’s surface to “the edge of space,” at about 965 kilometers, or 600 miles.) Garriott co-authored, with Stanford University colleagues Aldo V. da Rosa, Michael J. Davis and O.G. (Oswald Garrison) Villard Jr., “Solar Flare Effects in the Ionosphere,” a study of the solar flares of Monday, May 21, and Tuesday, May 23, 1967, published in the Dec. 1, 1967, issue of JGR Journal of Geophysical Research.

The patch’s Earth half backdropped the eight-limbed figure’s left side. The North and South American continents, depicted as silvery off-white land masses shaded with blue-gray topographical stretches, interrupt the blue vastness of the Atlantic and the Pacific. The Southern Ocean possibly lies between Skylab 3 man’s two left feet.

Elena Passarello, assistant professor of English at Oregon State University, devoted a chapter to the Skylab 3 mission’s most popular experimentee, common cross spider (Araneus diadematus) Arabella, in her 2017 bestiary, Animals Strike Curious Poses. Passarello ended her tribute to Arabella with a description of the Skylab 3 mission patch’s “take on Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.” She saw the patch’s central figure as reaching out “with all eight of his appendages” (page 170). Perhaps the patch’s eight-limbed figure also could have suggested the eight-legged Arabella, dubbed in the chapter’s opening Reuters’ quote as “. . . in many ways . . . Skylab’s star performer” (page 158).

The Skylab 3 mission patch designated the mission as Skylab II. In Homesteading Space (2008), co-written by spaceflight historian William David Hitt (born Aug. 7, 1975) with Skylabbers Owen Garriott and Joseph Peter “Joe” Kerwin (born Feb. 19, 1932), the discrepancy is attributed to scrapped plans for designating the space station’s three manned missions as 1, 2 and 3, by excluding the space station’s orbital launch, Monday, May 14, 1973.

The takeaways for Skylab 3 mission patch’s emphasis on Earth, sun and medical themes are that the primarily tri-colored patch honored the red, white and blue colors of the United States flag; that a communications snafu accounted for the mission’s designation as Skylab II instead of Skylab 3; and that the eight-limbed Vitruvius Man could have suggested the mission's most popular experimentee, Arabella, who spun the first made-in-space web as the one of the first two spiders in space.

First two spiders in space were common cross spiders (Araneus diadematus) Arabella (left), who spun first made-in-space web, and Anita (right), second spider to form a web in space; Lee B. Summerlin, ed., Skylab, Classroom in Space (1977), page 44: Public Domain, via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Report Server)

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

chromedome (Jon Mendyk). “Dick Lattimer’s Obituary.” The Leatherwall Bowsite. Sept. 13, 2011.
Available @ http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/tf/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=228443&CATEGORY=9

Dorr, Eugene. “Introduction.” Gene Dorr > Spaceflight Mission Patches > Introduction.
Available @ http://genedorr.com/patches/Intro.html

Dorr, Eugene. “Skylab.” Gene Dorr > Spaceflight Mission Patches > Introduction.
Available @ http://genedorr.com/patches/IndexSk.html

Dorr, Eugene. “Skylab Expedition 2.” Gene Dorr > Spaceflight Mission Patches > Introduction > Skylab.
Available @ http://genedorr.com/patches/Skylab/Sk03.html

Passarello, Elena. "Arabella (1973)." Animals Strike Curious Poses: 157-170. Louisville KY; Brooklyn NY: Sarabande Books, 2017.

Shayler, David J.; and Colin Burgess. NASA’s Scientist-Astronauts. Springer-Praxis Books in Space Exploration. Chichester UK: Praxis Publishing Limited, 2007.

Summerlin Lee B., ed. “Web Formation.” Skylab, Classroom in Space: 41-49. Prepared by George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. NASA SP-401. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Office, 1977.
Available via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19770022245.pdf

Wade, Mark. “Garriott, Owen Kay.” Astronautix > Alphabetical Index > G.
Available @ http://www.astronautix.com/g/garriott.html

Whiting, Melanie. “Skylab 3: A Record 59 Days in Space.” NASA > History. Sept. 25, 2018.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/feature/skylab-3-a-record-59-days-in-space

Zell, Holly, ed. “Earth’s Atmospheric Layers.” NASA > Mission Pages > Sun-Earth > Science. Jan. 22, 2013. Last updated Aug. 7, 2017.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/science/atmosphere-layers2.html

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Arabella and Anita Spun First Space Webs in August 1973 at Skylab

Summary: Arabella and Anita spun the first space webs in August 1973 at Skylab, the first United States space station, during the Skylab 3 mission.

Common cross spiders (Araneus diadematus) Arabella and Anita spun the first space webs in August 1973 at Skylab, the first United States space station, during the Skylab 3 mission’s experiment on web formation in zero g-force (gravitational force), known as weightlessness.

The Skylab 3 mission involved a large, multi-species crew. Arabella and Anita numbered among four animal species involved in biological experiments conducted during Skylab 3, NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) second manned mission to the only space station operated exclusively by the United States. In addition to the two common cross spiders, six pocket mice (Perognathus longimembris), 180 fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) pupae, two mummichog minnows (Fundular heteroclitus) and 50 minnow fish eggs crewed as participants in experiments testing effects of weightlessness on web formation, circadian rhythms and orientation.

The mission’s commander was fourth moonwalker Alan LaVern Bean (March 15, 1932-May 26, 2018). Owen Kay Garriott (born Nov. 22, 1930) and Jack Robert Lousma (born Feb. 29, 1936) experienced their first spaceflights on Skylab 3 in their respective capacities as scientist-pilot and mission pilot.

The Skylab 3 mission launched Saturday, July 28, 1973, at 11:10:50 Coordinated Universal Time (7:10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time) from Launch Pad 39B, Cape Kennedy, along Florida’s east central coast. (Since Oct. 9, 1973, the cape has been known by its original name of Cape Canaveral, Spanish for Cabo Cañaveral, “cape of reed beds.”) The mission’s Saturn IB (one B) launch vehicle carried a payload of an Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM) for insertion into low-Earth orbit (LEO). Low-Earth orbits occupy altitudes between 99 and 1,200 miles (160 to 2,000 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.

Apollo CSM 117 successfully transported the mission’s crew and paraphernalia to the mission’s rendezvous with Skylab. The module docked at the space station at 19:37:00 UTC (3:37 p.m. EDT), eight hours 26 minutes 10 seconds after launch.

A specially designed, screened cage served as a protected site for web construction. Prior to and after their respective sessions in the cage, the first two spiders in space were secluded in separate transportation vials.

Arabella occupied the cage for the first three-week session, which began Sunday, Aug. 5. Arabella’s forced entry into the cage, effected by Owen Garriott’s shaking the reluctant spider’s vial, attested to her dismay at weightlessness. The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center’s Skylab Student Project Report, released August 1974, assessed Arabella’s awkward realization of the unfamiliar environment: “Arabella bounced back and forth moving erratically in a swimming motion before she affixed herself to the screen covering on the cage surface.”

Arabella’s “rudimentary web,” discovered in the cage’s corners Monday, Aug. 6, qualified Arabella as the first spider to spin a web in space. Her first web was found to be complete on Tuesday, Aug. 7.

The experiment’s protocol expected one spider to complete three webs. Accordingly, half of her first web was removed Monday, Aug. 13. Arabella ingested the remaining half but refrained from commencing a second web until the scientist-pilot supplied her with water. Arabella’s second and third webs revealed her mastery of weightlessness, as she moved confidently and spun competently. Arabella’s third web, observed in the cage Wednesday, Aug. 22, “. . . was pronounced to be her best to date . . .,” according to the MSFC Skylab Student Project Report.

Owen Garriott received permission to expand the protocol to test Anita’s skill sets in weightlessness. Anita’s three-week session began Sunday, Aug. 26. As with Arabella, first encounters with weightlessness proved troublesome for Anita’s movements and web construction. The second spider to make spun-in-space webs, however, overcame the challenges of her new environment, learning to move and spin with ease.

Sadly, on Sunday, Sept. 16, Owen Garriott discovered Anita’s lifeless body in the cage. He retrieved her body and deposited Anita’s dehydrated remains in her transportation vial.

The Skylab 3 mission ended Tuesday, Sept. 25. Apollo CSM 117 undocked from Skylab at 11:16:42 UTC (7:16 a.m. EDT). The module’s Pacific Ocean splashdown happened at 22:19:51 UTC (6:19 p.m. EDT).

Arabella apparently survived the orbital flight part of the Skylab 3 mission. She was found dead in her transportation vial after its post-splashdown removal from Apollo CSM 117.

The takeaway for Arabella and Anita, who spun the first space webs in August 1973 at Skylab, is that the two common cross spiders (Araneus diadematus) displayed persistence and resilience in successfully adjusting to the unfamiliar conditions of weightlessness in their new habitat, Skylab's Orbital Workshop (OWS), in space.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC) Dr. Raymond L. Gause, who serves as MSFC science adviser for Lexington, Massachusetts, high schooler Judith S. Miles’ web formation experiment, places a housefly as dinner in the web of common cross spider (Araneus diadematus) Arabella, the experiment’s prime spider; the end of Dr. Gause’s pen points to Arabella; NASA ID S73-32499 (July 1973); Date Created 1973-08-15; photo credit NASA: Generally not subject to copyright in the United States; may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages; general permission extends to personal Web pages, via NASA Image and Video Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details-s73-32499

Skylab 3 mission’s spider cage for Experiment ED52, Web Formation in Zero Gravity (top left); Apollo 9 (March 3-March 13, 1969) Lunar Module Pilot Russell “Rusty” Schweikart (lower left) was involved in the manned Skylab missions in various capacities; Rusty Schweikart and Dr. Raymond Gause, NASA MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center) science adviser for student investigator Judith L. Miles’ web formation experiment; NASA ID 0102080; Date Created 1973-01-01: Generally not subject to copyright in the United States; may use this material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages; general permission extends to personal Web pages, via NASA Image and Video Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details-0102080

For further information:

Burgess, Colin; and Chris Dubbs. Animals in Space: From Research Rockets to the Space Shuttle. Springer-Praxis Books in Space Exploration. Chichester UK: Praxis Publishing Ltd., 2007.

Evans, Ben. “A Sick Crew and A Sick Ship: The Trials of Skylab 3 (Part 1).” AmericaSpace. July 27, 2013.
Available @ https://www.americaspace.com/2013/07/27/a-sick-crew-and-a-sick-ship-the-trials-of-skylab-3-part-1/

Gamache, Martin. “Niger (1999).” Arachnids on Stamps. Oct. 27, 2008.
Available @ http://arachnidstamps.blogspot.com/2012/02/niger-scorpions.html

NASA Content Administrator. “Judith’s Web -- Student Experiment Aboard Skylab 3.” NASA > NASA Missions A-Z > S > Skylab. March 23, 2008.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_629.html

NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. “C. Zoology. 1. ED52 -- Web Formation.” MSFC Skylab Student Project Report: 38-46. NASA Technical Memorandum TM X-64866. NASA Skylab Program Office. August 1974.
Available @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740025164.pdf

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. “Web Formation – Skylab Student Experiment ED-52.” Jan. 1, 1973.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/MSFC-9513727

Pearlman, Robert. “Space Spider Lands in Smithsonian Display.” collectSpace > News. Dec. 3, 2012.
Available @ http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-120312a.html

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. “’Anita’ on Display in the McDonnell Space Hangar.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum > Multimedia Gallery.
Available @ https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/si2004-51277640jpg

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. “Spider, ‘Arabella,’ Skylab 3.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum > Collections.
Available @ https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/spider-arabella-skylab-3

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. “Spider Cage, Experiment ED52, Skylab 3.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum > Collections > Objects on Display.”
Available @ https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/spider-cage-experiment-ed52-skylab-3

Summerlin, Lee B., ed. “Web Formation.” Skylab, Classroom in Space, Part II, Chapter 3 Studies of the Central Nervous System: 41-48. Prepared by George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. Washington DC: Scientific and Technical Information Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1977.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-401/ch3.htm

Wade, Mark. “Saturn IB.” Astronautix > Alphabetical Index > S.
Available @ http://www.astronautix.com/s/saturnib.html

Wade, Mark. “Skylab 3.” Astronautix > Alphabetical Index > S.
Available @ http://www.astronautix.com/s/skylab3.html

Williams, Matt. “What Is Low Earth Orbit?” Universe Today. Jan. 6, 2017.
Available @ https://www.universetoday.com/85322/what-is-low-earth-orbit/

Witt, Peter N.; Mabel B. Scarboro; Rubenia Daniels; David B. Peakall; and Raymond L. Gause. “Spider Web-Building in Outer Space: Evaluation of Records From the Skylab Spider Experiment.” Journal of Arachnology, vol. 4, issue 2 (Spring 1976): 115-124.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/52939706