Skylab 3 Space Station Below Earthshine Solar Array 1973 - Original NASA Photo For Sale

An original 8x10" vintage photo (NOT a modern reprint) from a very large collection of rare original NASA photographs that originated from the estate of an engineer who worked at NASA through the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. We acquired through a major sale house.

Photo Overview

This dramatic NASA photograph (SL3-) captures the Skylab space station from below, bathed in the soft, diffuse glow of earthshine - reflected light from the Earth illuminating the station against the deep darkness of space. The image was taken during the Skylab 3 mission (officially SL-3), the second crewed mission to the Skylab Orbital Workshop. The rich maroon-tinted color rendering is characteristic of Kodak photographic paper of the era and lends the image an almost painterly quality.

Visible in striking detail are the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) solar observatory, its windmill-like solar panel array extending outward, the Orbital Workshop module, and the distinctive gold thermal insulation and white parasol sunshade that was deployed to replace the meteoroid shield lost during launch. This view from below gives a rarely seen perspective on the full complexity and scale of America\'s first space station.

Historical Notes

Skylab 3 launched on July 28, 1973, carrying astronauts Alan Bean (Commander), Jack Lousma (Pilot), and Owen Garriott (Science Pilot). The crew conducted an extraordinary 59-day mission - more than doubling the duration of the first Skylab crew. During SL-3, the astronauts performed three spacewalks totaling over 13 hours, installed a second sunshade to replace the original emergency parasol, and repaired two of the station\'s stuck solar array systems.

The mission was enormously productive scientifically: the crew logged over 1,000 hours of scientific and medical experiments, took tens of thousands of solar photographs through the Apollo Telescope Mount, and demonstrated that humans could live and work productively in space for extended periods. The data gathered from Skylab\'s solar observations alone revolutionized our understanding of the Sun\'s corona and chromosphere.

After Skylab 3, Alan Bean went on to become the fourth person to walk on the Moon (Apollo 12) and later a celebrated artist depicting space exploration. Owen Garriott\'s son Richard Garriott became a commercial space tourist in 2008. Skylab itself was eventually abandoned in 1974 and re-entered Earth\'s atmosphere in July 1979, scattering debris across Western Australia.



Print analysis

This is an original Type 1 NASA photograph printed on Kodak photographic paper, as confirmed by the \'THIS PAPER MANUFACTURED BY KODAK\' watermark repeated across the back. The image was produced at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, as indicated by the printed header. The Kodak paper stock and NASA JSC provenance are consistent with a period print produced at or very near the time the Skylab 3 mission photography was processed in 1973. This is a Type 1 original NASA mission photograph.

Condition

In very good to excellent vintage condition. Photos in this archive have been well taken care of. Please see scans of the image we have provided for the most accurate and complete state of the photo.