Skylab 2

Skylab 2 (also SL-2 and SLM-1) was the first manned mission to Skylab, the first U.S. orbital space station. The mission was launched on a Saturn IB rocket and carried a three-person crew to the station. The name Skylab 2 also refers to the vehicle used for that mission. The Skylab 2 mission established a record for human spaceflight duration. Furthermore, its crew were the first space station occupants ever to return safely to Earth – the only other space station occupants, the crew of the 1971 Soyuz 11 mission that had manned the Salyut 1 station, were killed during reentry.

The manned Skylab missions were officially designated Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Miscommunication about the numbering resulted in the mission emblems reading Skylab I, Skylab II, and Skylab 3 respectively.