Fabricating a replacement heat shade
With the shield gone, NASA had to scramble to create a replacement heat shade for the Skylab Orbital Workshop, as temperatures inside Skylab were untenable, reaching 126 degrees F (52 degrees C). NASA engineers devised a solution and trained the first crew on how to implement the fixes. The image above shows a team putting the heat shade together at the GE building across the street from Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The parasol solar shield, made from layers of aluminized mylar, laminated nylon ripstop, and thin nylon, was designed to protect the workshop from the Sun’s hot rays.
