Originally published March 18, 2021. Updated March 17, 2021.
Searching for Skylab, 2019.
Directed by Dwight Steven Boniecki.
Featuring Joe Kerwin, Paul Weitz, Jack Lousma, Owen Garriott, Gerald P Carr, Ed Gibson, Lubos Kohoutek, Vance Brand and Bruce Candless II.
SYNOPSIS:
From May to November 1973, NASA launched a series of missions which would define space travel for decades. Searching For Skylab is a look back on that monumental era, forever overshadowed by the Apollo moon landing.
Manned space travel no longer makes the news. It costs too much money, wastes too many resources and global pandemics are definitely more in vogue. Exploring the outer reaches of space, expanding mankind’s knowledge and quantifying our cosmos is no longer sexy. Which is one of many reasons why Searching For Skylab is essential viewing.
Featuring numerous talking heads, restored stock footage and in situ moments from the first space station ever made, there is much to be learned. It documents the four missions, their objectives and how obstacles were overcome both on the ground and otherwise. More than anything, it celebrates the ingenuity of a team who tackled challenges head on.
Suspended hundreds of miles above the Earth’s surface and orbiting at eighteen thousand miles an hour, space travel still represented the pinnacle of human endeavour. During the course of these missions Skylab laid the groundwork for medical studies into space travel, pioneered advancements in technology and tested those onboard. Boundaries were redefined daily, while each team experienced their own set of life threatening challenges.
Looking back at the archive footage and listening to these people, it is strange to think how common place space travel is considered today. It remains the greatest unexplored domain left to human beings. Our understanding is still limited by technological progress, while the cost of space travel, which was two billion dollars in 1973, would cause problems for even the wealthiest nations today. That is why this documentary directed by Dwight Steven Boniecki needs as much exposure as possible.
In an era when space travel is discussed in commercial terms by billionaires, it is fair to say that the pioneering element has been lost. Skylab lacked the showmanship of those Apollo missions and had nothing media outlets could get behind. Until recently astronaut Edward Gibson held the record for the longest time spent in space, at eighty-four days, while Skylab itself was rarely mentioned. Considering the inherent risks, vast sums of money and necessity for continued innovation to achieve success, it seems strange that these events are virtually unknown.
From those who go on record in this film there is a sense of fearlessness. A feeling that nothing would phase them at any point. In a society which is increasingly defined by intangible ailments, cultural impatience and an entitlement which feels unwarranted this film is refreshing. It harks back to an era when human achievements were done for selfless reasons, by those who sought nothing more than job satisfaction. For that reason, if no other, Searching For Skylab should be celebrated, revered and enjoyed on the largest screen possible.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Martin Carr
