Skylab was a space station launched into Earth orbit by the United States in May 1973. Until February 1974, it was occupied by three different three-man crews who spent 28, 59, and 84 days, respectively, living and working in space and using Skylab as a research laboratory. This 1:48 scale model shows the major elements of the space station: the large workshop and living quarters; the airlock module with a hatch for activity outside the station; the docking module with docking ports for the crew vehicle as well as a control center for the solar observatory and some experiments; and an attached solar observatory called the Apollo telescope mount. The long solar arrays supplied electrical power. This model also includes a "parasol" and a "sail" that astronauts extended after the primary sunshield ripped off during launch. These shields helped to control temperature inside the space station and save Skylab from failure.