Today in the history of astronomy, the first American space station has a rocky journey to the stars. | Published: May 14, 2026 Skylab launches May 14, 1973; the launch was the final use of a Saturn V rocket. Credit: NASA On May 14, 1973, 25,000 spectators watched as America’s first attempt at a space station launched from Kennedy Space Center. Skylab featured a galley and shower, and was meant to be a pioneering exploration of humans’ ability to live, work, and research in orbit; at 170,000 pounds (77,110 kilograms), it was also the heaviest object put into space to that point. The first crew was scheduled to launch the following day. The launch did not go to plan , however. Sixty-three seconds in, the micrometeoroid shield deployed at the wrong time and was torn off; its debris wrapped around one of the solar arrays and jammed it. The other solar array was completely broken off by rocket exhaust as the second stage separated.…