SKYLAB (SL)-I - MANUFACTURING (SUN SHADE) - GE, HOUSTON, TX

S73-26047 (18 May 1973) --- A sail-like sunshade for possible use as a sunscreen for the Skylab orbital workshop (OWS) is shown being fabricated in the GE Building across the street from the Johnson Space Center. Three persons assist the seamstress feed the material through the sewing machine. The three-layered shade will be composed of a top layer of aluminum Mylar, a middle layer of laminated nylon rip stop, and a bottom layer of thin nylon. Working on the sunshade, from left to right, are Dale Gentry, Elizabeth Gauldin, Alyene Baker and James H. Barnett Jr. Mrs. Baker, a GE employee, operates the double-needle sewing machine. Barnett is head of the Crew Equipment Development Section of JSC's Crew Systems Division. Mrs. Gauldin is also with the Crew Systems Division. Gentry works for GE. The work shown here is part of the crash program underway to prepare a protection device for Skylab to replace the original shield which was lost when the unmanned Skylab 1 launch took place on May 14, 1973. The improvised solar shield selected to be used will be carried to Earth orbit by the Skylab 2 crew, who will deploy it to shade part of the OWS from the hot rays of the sun. Loss of the original shield, as expected, has caused an overheating problem on the OWS. Photo credit: NASA