July 11, 1979.

On this day 39 years ago, Skylab fell to earth.

NASA launched Skylab in 1973.

The space station was used for observation and tests in outer space, such as examining the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body.

The project had its share of difficulties; Skylab was damaged on launch and had to be repaired in space.

In late 1978 NASA engineers discovered the station's orbit was decaying rapidly.

NASA had failed to create any control or navigation mechanisms to safely return it to Earth.

They could not control Skylab's re-entry, or even accurately predict where it would fall.

When the public learned of this, the space station became a celebrity of sorts.

People expecting the re-entry of the space station wore t-shirts and hats bearing bullseyes.
Some held "Skylab parties" .... and one entrepreneur sold cans of "Skylab Repellent"

The San Francisco Examiner offered a $10,000 prize for the first piece of Skylab to be brought to its office.

NASA aimed the station at a location 810 miles / 1,300 km away from Cape Town, South Africa.

Re-entry began at approximately 16:37 UTC, July 11, 1979.

Skylab did not burn up as quickly as NASA had anticipated.

Some of it fell into the Indian Ocean, but most of the wreckage dropped onto a deserted stretch of Australia.

Debris landed about 300 miles /480 km east of Perth and was found between Esperance, Western Australia and Rawlinna.

The Examiner prize was collected by Stan Thornton of Esperance, who found 24 pieces of Skylab at his home.

There were no reports of injuries or real damage due to the falling debris.

The annual Miss Universe pageant was held a few days later on July 20, 1979 in Perth, about 500 miles away from Esperance.

Australian authorities transported a section of Skylab (a cylindrical oxygen tank) to Perth, where it was displayed on stage during the pageant.

The band "The Monks" released a piece called "Skylab" on their 1979 album "Bad Habits"

Esperance facetiously fined NASA $400 Australian for littering.

In April 2009, radio show host Scott Barley of Highway Radio raised the funds from his morning show listeners on behalf of NASA and paid the fine -- 30 years after the craft came back to Earth.

Visit this site for more information:

The history of Skylab from NASA.
[history].nasa.gov/SP-4208/contents.htm

Photos:

• Skylab in orbit

• A fragment of Skylab on display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center

• Skylab debris on stage at the 1979 Miss universe pageant