Sky Lab
Fear and anxiety afflicted millions of people of the world including those of the U.S.A. during the second week of July, 1979.
The thing that caused this anxiety was the Skylab. The Skylab was a science laboratory orbiting in outer space since May, 1973 It was a huge work shop shaped like a wind mill. sent up by the U.S. Scientists for the purpose of conducting experiments in outer space. They expected that such experiments would help their manned moon flight programme later.
The Skylab had trouble right from the hour of its launching. A shield fixed on the Skylab to protect it from the sun’s heat and from flying bodies was torn off while it was launched. A space shuttle was launched to push up the Skylab to a higher orbit but it failed.
During the first nine months three teams went up to work on the Skylab. The first team succeeded in fixing a sunshade around the Skylab.
The second team known as space spiders wore webs in outer space on both sides of the Skylab.
The third team remained in space for 84 days.
The sky lab crashed with a fiery descent at about 10 P.M. on Wednesday the 11th of July 1979. The biggest piece plunged into the Indian Ocean, a few hundred ‘kilometers to the west of Australia.
No loss of life or property was reported. It would have been a different story if the pieces had hit Perth or Adelaide, the U.S.A. would then have been compelled to Pay compensation to Australia tot lives and property destroyed
The millions of people who were unduly frightened heaved sigh of relief after the news of as crash into the Indian Ocean was reported but prior, they bought Skylab medicine from quack doctors and many of them left cities and flied to the country side. There was a flight of people and panic was spreading. Then suddenly it was all over.
But during those days, even Governments had to take precautions. Aeroplane flights were cancelled and Firs Brigade was kept ready.
Quack doctors made money selling Skylab medicine. People became so crazy about the sky lab that a new born, baby in Predate was promptly named Skylab Singh.
But some greedy people were anxious to get at one of the piece for they could claim a thousand dollars for them because pen of the sky lab was of platinum which is more valuable than Gold.
