The Explorers' Club, № CML

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 1, Part I
14 May 1973: The Skylab space station lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center atop a Saturn V rocket; aerodynamic forces during ascent sheared off Skylab's exterior micrometeoroid shield/sun shade & one of two solar arrays; debris ensnared the other solar "wing," crippling Skylab; the crewed launch of Skylab 2 scheduled for 15 May was postponed while N.A.S.A. devised how to save Skylab.

Commentary: Skylab 1 was the thirteenth & final flight of the mighty Saturn V rocket. The crewed Skylab expeditions would fly aboard Saturn IB rockets, last seen during Apollo 7 (October 1968).

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Skylab 1
They Might Be Giants, "Severe Tire Damage Theme" from Severe Tire Damage (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Semper exploro.