Skylab 3: Humanity Learns to Live in Space.
This 4" mission patch honours the third crew to occupy America’s first space station — officially Skylab 4 — where Gerald Carr, Ed Gibson, and William Pogue pushed human endurance and scientific discovery to unprecedented levels. Their 84‑day mission proved that humans can function indefinitely in orbit if long‑term challenges like bone calcium loss are solved.
Across 1,563 hours of experiments, the crew achieved full photographic coverage of a solar flare, conducted an extensive 156‑hour study of Comet Kohoutek, and set a new world record with 34.5 million miles traveled. Launched on November 16, 1973 atop a Saturn IB, Skylab 3 cemented the blueprint for long‑duration missions that would later define Mir, the ISS, and the future of deep‑space habitation.
A bold emblem celebrating endurance, discovery, and the astronauts who proved humanity could truly live among the stars.
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