Description : 3 covers. In October 1977 decision on whether Skylab should be reboosted to a higher orbit, extending its orbital lifetime until about 1990, or deboosted so that it would reenter over an unpopulated area.
Assuming that NASA decided to reboost Skylab, then a ground reactivation test would occur between June 1978 and March 1979. If the reactivation test was successful, then a Space Shuttle Orbiter would rendezvous with Skylab during the Shuttle Program’s fifth Orbital Flight Test mission in February 1980. The Orbiter would conduct an inspection fly-around, then deploy an unmanned Teleoperator spacecraft from its payload bay. Using a control panel on the Shuttle, the astronauts would guide the Teleoperator, which would carry an Apollo-type probe docking unit, to a docking with the front docking port on Skylab’s Multiple Docking Adapter. The Teleoperator would then fire its thrusters to raise Skylab’s orbit.

USA 1144 L - picture enhanced ?

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SKYLAB (SPACE STATION) · REUSE STUDY