Skylab Micrometeorite Shield Illustration

A diagram illustrating how within a few seconds the micrometeorite shield tore away from the Skylab Orbital Workshop during launch.  The numbers following “SITUATION AT” are the seconds following liftoff.  Astronaut Russell Schweickart, the backup commander to the first Skylab mission, likens the loss of the shield to, “… running your fingernail down the label on the outside of an old soup can.”