May 28 1973
From The Space Library
A New York Times editorial commented on the repair of Skylab 1, damaged on launch May 14: "Many people deserve credit for this remarkable turn of events. First there were the Houston ground controllers who maneuvered the crippled Skylab into an optimal position.... A small but varied army of technicians hurriedly contrived not one but three possible ways of creating a parasol in space so as to replace the missing heat shield that had created the most trouble. Finally, the Skylab astronauts mastered their new tasks in an incredibly short time, reached orbit in the neighborhood of Skylab, surveyed the damage, and made the most essential fix the sunshade, which yesterday brought the station's temperature down to tolerable levels." It had been a grueling test for all concerned. "But for the moment, at least, the Skylab project has been truly resurrected from near-death." (NYT, 5/28/73, 14)
The U.S. aerospace industry had "weathered the economic storms of recent years" to emerge "a leaner and tougher competitor," an Aviation Week & Space Technology editorial said. For the first time in years, the industry was seeing "some of the government shackles that restricted its efforts abroad loosened and even active support forthcoming in certain key areas. The sad story of the balance-of-trade deficits and the decline of the dollar have finally shaken the U.S. government out of its economic isolation, and the aerospace industry will benefit accordingly in its increasing export campaign." (Hotz, Av Wk, 5/28/73, 9)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
