Editing Skylab (section)

=== Re-entry and debris ===
{{further|List of reentering space debris}}
[[File:Skylab reentry map.svg|thumb|[[Equirectangular projection]] relief map of the Skylab [[Atmospheric entry|re-entry]] site and final orbits, as predicted by [[NASA]]]]
[[File:Skylab O2 Tank Fragment - US Space & Rocket Center - Alabama - USA.jpg|thumb|right|Fragment of Skylab recovered after its re-entry through [[Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]], on display at the [[U.S. Space & Rocket Center]]]]

Skylab's impending demise in 1979 was an international media event,<ref>{{cite news |last=Shales |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shales |title=Please, Mr. Skylab: The Greatest Hits on Earth |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/07/10/please-mr-skylab-the-greatest-hits-on-earth/7fd747aa-e503-43e4-aa12-d402c688fb40/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 10, 1979}}</ref> with T-shirts and hats with bullseyes<ref name=lewis1984/> and "Skylab Repellent" with a money-back guarantee,{{r|carrier19790708}} wagering on the time and place of re-entry, and nightly news reports. The ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'' offered a US$10,000 prize (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|10000|1979|r=-3}}}} today){{Inflation-fn|US}} for the first piece of Skylab delivered to its offices; the rival ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' offered US$200,000 (${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|200000|1979|r=-3}}}} today){{Inflation-fn|US}} if a subscriber suffered personal or property damage.<ref name="time19790716"/> A Nebraska neighborhood painted a target so that the station would have "something to aim for", a resident said.<ref name="carrier19790708">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6466603//|title=Some find Skylab good for 'Skylaughs'|publisher=The Kokomo Tribune|date=July 8, 1979|agency=Associated Press|access-date=September 1, 2016|author=Carrier, Jim|pages=37}}</ref>

The ''Examiner'' created the prize to compete with the ''Chronicle'' and its popular columnist [[Herb Caen]]. Publisher [[Reg Murphy]] was reluctant to pay the money, [[Jeff Jarvis]] recalled, but NASA assured Jarvis—Caen's counterpart at the ''Examiner''—that the station would not hit land.<ref name="chamings20230504">{{Cite news |last=Chamings |first=Andrew |date=2023-05-04 |title=A space station fell to Earth. An Australian boy brought it to San Francisco |language=en |work=SFGATE |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/the-skylab-race-to-san-francisco-18074888.php |access-date=2023-11-20}}</ref> A report commissioned by NASA calculated that the odds were 1 in 152 of debris hitting any human, and odds of 1 in 7 of debris hitting a city of 100,000 people or more.<ref>{{cite news|first=James|last=Coates |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1291&dat=19790701&id=h9gPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6094,67904&hl=en|title=Skylab Danger Isn't as Small as NASA Hints|publisher=Boca Raton News|page=7|date=July 1, 1979|via=Google News}}</ref> Special teams were readied to head to any country hit by debris.<ref name="time19790716">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,920502,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213023709/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,920502,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 13, 2007|title=Skylab's Fiery Fall|publisher=Time|date=July 16, 1979|page=20}}</ref> The event caused so much panic in the [[Philippines]] that President [[Ferdinand Marcos]] appeared on national television to reassure the public.{{r|ap19790704}}

A week before re-entry, NASA forecast that it would occur between July 10 and 14, with the 12th the most likely date, and the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] (RAE) predicted the 14th.{{r|ap19790704}} In the hours before the event, ground controllers adjusted Skylab's orientation to minimize the risk of re-entry on a populated area.<ref name="time19790716"/> They aimed the station at a spot {{convert|810|mi}} south-southeast of [[Cape Town]], South Africa, and re-entry began at approximately 16:37 UTC, July 11, 1979.<ref name="benson371">{{harvp|Benson|Compton|1983|p=371}}.</ref> The station did not burn up as fast as NASA expected. Debris landed about {{convert|300|mi}} east of [[Perth]], Western Australia due to a four-percent calculation error,<ref name=benson371/> and was found between [[Esperance, Western Australia]] and [[Rawlinna]], from 31° to 34° S and 122° to 126° E, about 130–150&nbsp;km (81–93 miles) radius around [[Balladonia, Western Australia]]. Residents and an airline pilot saw dozens of colorful flares as large pieces broke up in the atmosphere;<ref name= lewis1984/> the debris landed in an almost unpopulated area, but the sightings still caused NASA to fear human injury or property damage. Don Lind, in a 2005 interview, reports no human injuries or deaths.<ref name="lindoh"/>

Stan Thornton found 24 pieces of Skylab at his home in Esperance. After obtaining his first passport, Thornton flew to [[San Francisco]]. After waiting one week for Marshall Space Flight Center to authenticate the wreckage, he collected the ''Examiner'' prize and another US$1,000 from a Philadelphia businessman who had flown Thornton's family and girlfriend there.{{r|chamings20230504}}<ref name=benson371/><ref name=lewis1984/> Analysis of the debris showed that the station had disintegrated {{convert|10|mi}} above the Earth, much lower than expected.<ref name=lewis1984/>

The [[Shire of Esperance]] light-heartedly fined NASA A$400 for [[litter]]ing,<ref>{{cite web |last=O'Neill |first=Ian |date=July 14, 2009 |title=Celebrating July 13, "Skylab-Esperance Day" |url=http://www.seeker.com/celebrating-july-13-skylab-esperance-day-1764710421.html |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720074217/https://www.seeker.com/celebrating-july-13-skylab-esperance-day-1764710421.html |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |access-date=July 27, 2019 |website=seeker.com |publisher=Group Nine Media, Inc.}}</ref> and while the fine was indeed [[written off]] three months later, it was nonetheless eventually paid on behalf of NASA in April 2009, after Scott Barley of Highway Radio raised the funds from his morning show listeners.<ref>{{cite news|first=Hannah|last=Siemer |url=http://esperance.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/littering-fine-paid/1488319.aspx?storypage=1 |title=Littering Fine Paid|publisher=The Esperance Express|date= April 17, 2009 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711163508/http://esperance.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/littering-fine-paid/1488319.aspx?storypage=1|archive-date=July 11, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Sutherland |first=Paul |date=July 5, 2009 |title=NASA's Litter Bill Paid 30 Years On |url=http://www.skymania.com/wp/2009/07/nasas-litter-bill-paid-30-years-on.html/691/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720074217/http://www.seeker.com/celebrating-july-13-skylab-esperance-day-1764710421.html |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |publisher=Skymania News}}</ref>

After the demise of Skylab, NASA focused on the reusable [[Spacelab]] module, an orbital workshop that could be deployed with the Space Shuttle and returned to Earth. The next American major space station project was [[Space Station Freedom]], which was merged into the International Space Station in 1993 and launched starting in 1998. [[Shuttle-Mir]] was another project and led to the US funding [[Spektr]], [[Priroda]], and the [[Mir Docking Module]] in the 1990s.