Exercise 7: Read the information. Then look quickly at the labelling task and scan the passage.

Choose the four paragraphs that contain the information you need to label the diagram.
 The Skylab space station
A The USA sent its Skylab space station into orbit in 1973 from the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It wasn’t the world’s first space station
– that had been Salyut 1, which was launched by the Soviet Union on 1
April 1971. However, Salyut travelled alone and empty, controlled
remotely back on the Earth. No space station had been manned until
Skylab, with its crew of three astronauts. Skylab too launched without its
crew, who were transported to the space station once it was in orbit in the
Apollo Command / Service Module. The crew members spent up to 84
days aboard Skylab. A limiting factor was pure logistics in terms of how
many supplies it was feasible for the crew to bring with them, given the
restricted space available while in transit on the Apollo Command /
Service Module.
B Key objectives of the Skylab mission included the study of space and an
investigation into how people could live and work there for extended
periods. Additionally, the astronauts were to examine the Earth’s surface
(both land and oceans). However, the primary goal of the mission was
solar research. In fact, solar science was significantly advanced by the
powerful telescope on board, and the telescope’s observation of the sun
was unprecedented. The astronauts had an intense programme of
experiments to carry out, and the data from these was scrutinised
following Skylab’s return to Earth.
C The life cycle of Skylab began after a period of massive expenditure on
space rockets, moon capsules and service modules, many of which were
still in serviceable condition on return to Earth, and so the decision was
taken to reuse leftover components from these to forge the space station.
Many of these were from the Apollo moon missions. For example, the
Orbital Workshop (the thickest end of the space station) was made from
two tanks that had been used for storing liquid hydrogen and liquid
oxygen; the former was reconfigured to become a living and working
facility, and the latter was used for storing waste products that had
accumulated on the mission – unlike in other spacecraft, these were not
recycled or dumped into space.
D At the opposite extremity of the space station was the Service Module,
whose conical point would dock with the rest of the space station. In
actual fact, Skylab was so designed to allow for more than one module to
dock simultaneously; this was the contingency plan in the event of any
major mishap that meant that the astronauts needed rescuing.
E Skylab itself was essentially cylindrical in form, except for the Apollo
Telescope Mount, which stuck out at a right angle from the main body of
Skylab. This allowed for observation of the Earth and stars without
atmospheric interference. This was instrumental in the collection of many
thousands of photographs that were taken and subsequently analysed.
F Radiating out from a central point were the solar array panels, arranged
in a cross-like formation and looking almost like a windmill. These were
designed in order to achieve optimum alignment.
G The Airlock Module, with a length of 5.4 metres and a width of 2.1
metres, was used by the astronauts to exit the space station and perform
spacewalks. It allowed the astronauts to access the exterior and perform
any necessary maintenance. This was the cylindrical section with the
smallest radius, dwarfed by the bulk of the substantially wider body of the
Orbital Workshop and its attachments.
H Overall, the Skylab mission proved a success, though it was not without
its setbacks. Just 63 seconds after lift-off, a micrometeoroid shield worked
loose and became separated due to atmospheric drag, which
compromised the space station’s usability and effectively cut off the
majority of its electrical power. The first crew members were due to
occupy the space station the following day, but their launch was delayed
by ten days to allow for changes to be planned and put in place. The
damage to the shield caused Skylab’s internal temperature to rise to a
dangerously high 52 degrees, but a three-and-a-half-hour spacewalk and
the adept use of a pair of wire cutters attached to an eight-metre-long
pole allowed the crew to cut a metal strap and bring the temperature back
down to acceptable levels, rendering the space station habitable. This was
the first time that a repair of this magnitude had been carried out in
space.
I Much attention was paid by NASA to ensuring that Skylab would be
comfortably habitable for the astronauts. Whereas previous missions had
been brief and undertaken in spacecraft with small volumes, Skylab was
to be lived in for months at a time. With this in mind, NASA sent a
scientist to the Ben Franklin submarine in the Gulf Stream in July–August
1969 to learn how a team of six people could live in an enclosed space for
a four-week period. Skylab offered what a subsequent study would call ‘a
highly satisfactory living and working environment for the crews’. Sitting
by its large window with a view of the Earth became the most popular way
for the crew to relax in orbit.
J Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 until 1979. However, its decaying
orbit meant that it would inevitably crash back down to Earth. Controllers
in Florida endeavoured to minimise the risk of any debris from the space
station landing in populated areas. NASA’s target was a spot 810 miles off
the coast of South Africa in the Indian Ocean. Many people reported
seeing brightly coloured flares in the sky on 11 July 1979 as large pieces
of the space station broke up in the Earth’s atmosphere. Skylab did not in
fact burn up as NASA had anticipated, and pieces of debris reached the
 Earth in Australia, but without any major mishaps.
o Paragraph A
o Paragraph B
o Paragraph C
o Paragraph D
o Paragraph E
o Paragraph F
o Paragraph G
o Paragraph H
o Paragraph I
o Paragraph J
Exercise 8: Read the information. Then read the first three paragraphs of the passage “The
Skylab space station” again. Complete the notes. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS
from the passage for each answer.

Make sure that you only write one or two words in each gap. As a general rule, try to answer
with just one word if possible.

• Time spent by astronauts in orbit depended on the availability of _____________ on