Functionality Mistakes Throughout History That Were Way Too Expensive to Fix

Launched in May 1973, Skylab promised to be America’s leap into the future with a high-tech space station. However, by 1979, it met an untimely demise, crashing in Australia instead of being gently decommissioned as initially planned.

By 1978, Skylab’s orbit began decaying, indicating the end was near. Despite attempts using booster rockets to guide its fall into the Indian Ocean in 1979, the station crashed in Esperance, Australia, marking an unexpected conclusion to its celestial journey.