Save Skylab

[rkolker]

From http://www.saveskylab.org

She's Just Rotting Away
June 27, 2007

The USSRC Skylab Restoration Effort is still on hold. Nothing has been done in 7 months to save her. This bit of US space
history just keeps rotting away. The USSRC wants $2,000,000 dollars for a new building before work to save Skylab can
start again. In not much time little will be worth saving. They need to move Skylab (the space she sits now will be a parking
lot for the new Saturn V Building). The location is TBD. They taped up the MDA today but the weather covering on the 1st
deck has failed again exposing it to rain, dust, etc. The USSRC is looking for $2,000,000 to erect a new Shuttle building
(they have the USAF temp shelter to be used if an Orbiter ever had to land after an emergency in an area without facilities,
like from a TAL) in hopes of getting an orbiter (they have talked about getting for the Enterprise from the National Air and
Space Museum in Dulles VA). With 3 flight Orbiters available in 2.5 years, it's sure one will go to JSC, one will stay at KSC
and one will go to the National Air and Space Museum Annex in Dulles VA. Maybe the chance of an Orbiter is more
important than Skylab, maybe not. We are going to ask the BOD of a major National Technical Society if they will fund the
new building. But no promises.

[Benji]

I wonder if they'll still be working on it when I'm working there in a couple of years. I'd love to help out with the renovations.

[Princess]

man that is depressing...

When I returned from ASA I used my book (the one they used to give everyone) to do a report on Skylab. I thought it was the coolest idea ever.

[Hotdog]

Good news or bad news?

WE WILL NOT START BACK UP
July 5, 2007

The USSRC has declared it too dangerous for us to work on Skylab again. USSRC management has liability concerns due to the decayed state they allowed Skylab to fall into. Remember it was once safe enough for Spacecamp kids to enter. They also stated they have no plan to abandon Skylab. They committed to pay the $1,000,000 to a private contractor for repair, to move and keep Skylab on display. A date is still TBD.

Good articles on Skylab today:

Huntsville Time article:
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/ ... thispage=1

NASAWatch.com :
http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2007/ ... ued_r.html

[rkolker]

IMHO, their priority isn't Skylab, it's getting the Saturn V building done, and Skylab will sit outside deteriorating until either someone with clout gets involved or it's reached the point of no return. It's a shame the volunteer crew was not allowed to finish. They'd have the renovation done by now. A temporary building could be used to preserve the relic until the money was raised to put it on proper display.

[Hotdog]

USSRC has buildings with all sorts of space relics sitting around because there isn't enough room in the museam (which was the reason Skylab was moved outside to begin with). I was told by a museam guide when I was there last month that all of the Apollo stuff will be moved to the Saturn V building once it is complete, and alot of STS stuff will be moved out of these storage facilities and into the museam.

I am told the USSRC looked all over town and at Marshall for a place to store the Skylab, but couldn't find a building with doors big enough to squeeze it in. Which isn't much of an excuse, because you could always take it apart, put it inside, and put it back together.

I like the Editor's note from NASA Watch:

the Skylab trainer hardware has been allowed to sit outside for years and rot by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC). The USSRC did nothing to preserve the hardware except throw a tarp over it. A group of concerned citizens organized and donated their own time and money to try and halt the destruction and preserve the hardware. After their efforts show some results (and made the USSRC look bad) the USSRC thinks that the volunteers were doing something wrong and locks them out. And now the hardware continues to rot and yet the USSRC does nothing but try to look concerned. This is pathetic. It is also a rotten way to say "thank you" to volunteers who sought to do the job that USSRC has clearly failed to do i.e. to preserve the articfacts that have been entrusted to it.

[rkolker]

An update on the Save Skylab effort from Tom Hancock, who is leading up the effort:

http://www.saveskylab.org/

All,

I talked to Mike Kelly of the USSRC today. They are ready to start taking action to save Skylab. They are asking us to help raise funds to build structures (not a major building) for holding the 4 Skylab elements. They are asking for 3-20ft domes @ 6K each and one 40ft dome for 16K. Once each Skylab element is enclosed work can being again. We can have buildings erected as we raise funds (we raise 6K, one building goes up, etc). Once enclosed, restoration will begin again. When completed Skylab will go back in the main museum. We need donations and ideas, so basically I need your help. Our paypal link is active again. Any ideas are welcome. Also any structure can be named after a major donor. They are not asking for money but for us to pay for the new structures.

Cheers!

Tom

[JennieM]

That's great news. I still can't believe they took Skylab out of the muesum.

[Hotdog]

a Russian space station module trainer sits where Skylab once sits. The russian module seems really out-of-place since most everything around it is American. Shuttle and Saturn rocket engines have been moved inside to the main floor, as well as the V2 rocket as part of the salute to Von Braun the space center seems to have taken on (I think they kinda over-did it with all the Von Braun shrines if ya asked me).