The Explorers' Club, № CMLII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 50th Anniversary of Skylab 2, Part I
25-26 May 1973: Skylab 2 lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, with CDR Pete Conrad, Science Pilot Joe Kerwin, & Pilot Paul Weitz aboard an unnamed Apollo C.S.M. atop a Saturn IB rocket; Weitz conducted a standup E.V.A., but could not cut free the ensnared solar wing; the trio docked & deployed a telescoping parasol through a small scientific airlock, to shade & cool Skylab.

Commentary: Throughout Skylab, Saturn IB ("One-B") launch vehicles rested atop a structure known as the "Milkstool," so that the crews entered their Command & Service Modules from the same "white room" used for C.S.M. atop the taller Saturn V launch vehicle.

The parasol lowered the temperature inside Skylab's Workshop from +130° F to around 80° F, allowing Conrad, Kerwin, & Weitz to inhabit the space station & begin their mission proper.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Skylab 2
They Might Be Giants, "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" (live) from Severe Tire Damage (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Commentary: No, your eyes do not deceive you, dear reader, the Skylab 2 mission patch is emblazoned with the crew's names & "Skylab I." Miscommunication within N.A.S.A. meant that the three manned missions were officially designated Skylab 2, Skylab 3, & Skylab 4, while the crew patches read "Skylab I," "Skylab II," & "Skylab 3." (Yes, "Skylab 3," not "Skylab III," inconsistent with the other two patches.)

Semper exploro.