Gibson
solar data using ATM’s seven different instruments. ATM became a
whole separate module that looked
at the Sun in X-rays, ultraviolet and
white light. We were also able to
look at the Sun’s corona at any time
by creating our own artificial solar
eclipse. We really were able see the
Sun as never before.
“The most enjoyable part of it was
that we had television displays onboard in which we could see what
some of the instruments were seeing,
which helped improve the quality of
data we acquired.
“One observation we really wanted to make was of the very early
phase of a solar flare so that the investigators could get a better understanding of what happens in its initiation phase, what sets it off, and how
we can better predict it. We finally
came up with precursors that we
could see in the ultraviolet displays
that would tell us that the active region that we were looking at was becoming more unstable and about to
pop. Towards the end of the mission
we got reasonably good at that.
“We did get the early phases of a
flare and we also saw the Sun as few
people have ever seen it before. We
were able to get a lot of information
about bright points, coronal mass
ejections, early phases of a flare,
better definition of an active region
and the progression in time of all of
these phenomena.
“The ATM kept me sane, because
when you are up there for that
length of time, you want some mental challenges. Just pushing buttons
by rote gets old after a little while. I
enjoyed having that kind of mental
challenge that the ATM presented.
I think anyone that is going to be in
space for any length of time ought
to have something that’s going to
be mentally challenging and enjoyable for them rather than just keeping up with a checklist.”
Gibson and his crewmates, Gerald Carr and William Pogue, were
the last humans to visit Skylab, but at
the time they weren’t certain if that
would truly be the case.
Gibson: “We were the last American crew that we knew of that would
get up to Skylab for several years to
come. We also didn’t know if the
30
30
the reentry of the Skylab was earlier
than we anticipated so we couldn’t
reach it in to prevent its re-entry.
Ed Gibson’s Skylab Mission Portrait.
Russians were going to come up and
inspect our space station. So we buttoned it up tight, but we didn’t take
any special precautions. In case the
Russians were going to get up there
and look around, we didn’t put a
welcome mat out, but we didn’t try
to hinder them either.
“The whole timeline that followed
after we came back has surprised
me; in fact, disappointed me—all of
us for that matter.
“A basic space station should not
be all that difficult. It was just a pressure shell with some electrical power,
stabilization, environmental control,
crew support and a couple of other
systems. It should not have been all
that difficult to recreate. We thought
we ought to be able to have a firstclass station up here within five years.
Well, once the bureaucracy and the
politicians got into it, it turned out to
not be so easy.
“We finally have the International Space Station in orbit, which is
a great facility, but it was way late
in coming and almost was not approved. We are clearly disappointed
that it took so long.
“Skylab could’ve been a good
start. By building onto the Multiple
Docking Adapter with modules as
they became available, much like
the ISS has done, we could have assembled a first-class space station a
lot more cheaply and a lot earlier.
Unfortunately, the Shuttle development was a little bit delayed and
Every astronaut believes that STEM
education is important to not just the
future development of space exploration, but also to having a thriving
national economy.
Gibson: “I’m glad we still have
great enthusiasm for space in our
youth. In general, the road is pretty
straightforward for kids today. First,
figure out what you like. Is it medicine? Is it physics, geology, oceanography, material physics, astrophysics or piloting aircraft? Whatever it is,
be as good as you possibly can at it.
Most important, enjoy it thoroughly! If
you really want to get into the astronaut program, use your high level of
technical skills to enter. But remember, because the competition is stiff,
you’ve got to really be good at it.
“For every person who applies to
the astronaut program, there’s probably another 20 to 80 who don’t
make it. It’s not because they’re not
competent; they’re just not quite as
good as the people who did make
it. You’ve really got to be at the top
of your game. Take what you enjoy,
and go do it with enthusiasm and excellence, If you don’t make it, you still
have a good profession you enjoy.
“Now the question is whether there
is going to be a space program for
them to get into?
“This is the first time in 50 years that
we have not had a major operational program driving the development
of technology. That is highly unfortunate. We’ve got some technology
develop