Launch of the first Skylab crew
The first crewed mission to the space station was called Skylab 2, as the mission to launch the space station to orbit was called Skylab 1 (this naturally resulted in confusion, with original mission patches mistakenly referring to crewed missions one through three). A modified and trimmed-down Saturn V rocket, called the Saturn IB, launched the first crew to Skylab on May 25, 1973 (the crew was supposed to go up the day after Skylab reached orbit, but the problematic launch forced a delay).
The inaugural crew consisted of commander Pete Conrad, pilot Paul Weitz, and scientist Joe Kerwin, the latter being the first medical doctor to fly in space. The photo above shows the Saturn IB perched atop the “milkstool” pedestal, as NASA called it.
