Lessons Learned on the Skylab Program

The lessons learned in the Skylab Program are described in five basic documents prepared by and representing the experience of NASA Headquarters, the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, the John F. Kennedy Space Center, and the Skylab and Saturn Program Offices at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. The documents are intended primarily for use by persons who are familiar with the disciplines covered and who are involved in other programs. Thus, the individual lessons are brief rather than detailed. Authors of the lessons have been encouraged to be candid. The reader may detect apparent differences in approach in some areas, illustrating that equally effective management action in a particular area frequently can be accomplished by several approaches. The recommendations and actions described are not necessarily the only or the best approaches, but they reflect Skylab experience that must be tailored to other situations and should be accepted by the reader as one input to the management decision making process. As such, these recommendations, which are based on approaches that were found to be effective in the Skylab Program, should be used to help identify potential problems of future space programs. Many of the lessons are subjective and represent individual opinions and should not be interpreted as official statements of NASA positions or policies. In addition to the Skylab Lessons Learned documents, Skylab Mission Evaluation Reports are being issued by the previously mentioned NASA agencies to provide detailed evaluation results. The results of the scientific experiments will be disseminated by the Principal Investigators.