The Skylab 2 mission successfully completed the necessary repairs to the floundering space station. This allowed the Skylab 3 astronauts, Alan Bean, Owen Garriott, and Jack Lousma, an opportunity to visit the space station for an extended period and conduct a number of important experiments.

Before these experiments could begin, the astronauts would first need to be launched in their Apollo spacecraft and make their way to the Skylab space station. Unfortunately, arriving at Skylab proved to be one of the more intense moments of the mission. As the spacecraft began its approach, engineers determined that there was an issue with the reaction control system.

Astronauts Richard Gordon and Pete Conrad launched onboard the Gemini XI spacecraft on September 12, 1966. This mission was one of only two remaining missions in Project Gemini. The purpose of Gemini 11 was to prove that a rendezvous and docking could be completed in space immediately following the launch. Astronauts Richard Gordon and Pete Conrad proved that this was possible when they docked with an Agena Target Vehicle just 85 minutes after launch.

During the Gemini 11 mission, astronaut Richard Gordon also completed 2 spacewalks, or extravehicular activities (EVA). The first of the spacewalks proved to be difficult and was ended before all tasks had been completed. The second spacewalk was far less strenuous and was ultimately successful.

Pete Conrad was joined by Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper during the Gemini 5 mission. The purpose of this mission was to see if people could exist in space for an extended period of time. While Gemini 5 lasted for 8 days, later Gemini missions would break this record.

When the Skylab was first launched in early May of 1973, the space station sustained serious damaged. Not only was one of the solar panels badly damaged, the shield that protected Skylab from the heat of the sun and meteoroids was also damaged. Skylab 2 astronauts Pete Conrad, Paul Weitz, and Joseph Kerwin were tasked with repairing the space station.

Without an adequate shield, the interior of the space station was incredibly hot and there were concerns that the heat would react with onboard components and create lethal fumes. The first thing the astronauts had to do was deploy a parasol device to act as a backup shield. The repair was a success and temperatures inside Skylab dropped to reasonable levels and the astronauts were allowed to enter. Eventually a spacewalk was conducted and the damaged solar panel was fixed and deployed.

Reflecting telescopes are constructed with a minimum of one curved mirror that reflects the incoming light in to a focus. The primary mirror of a reflecting telescope is located in the bottom of the tube. A smaller secondary flat mirror is typically located further up in the tube and is used to reflect the image from the primary mirror to the eyepiece that is typically located on the side of the telescope.