“The Skylab 2 Command Module, with astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Joseph P. Kerwin and Paul J. Weitz still inside, is hoisted aboard the prime recovery ship, USS Ticonderoga, following successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean about 835 miles southwest of San Diego, California. The crewmen had just completed a 28-day stay with the Skylab 1 space station in Earth orbit conducting numerous medical, scientific and technological experiments. Note the inflated bags and the floatation collar on the spacecraft.”
Above taken from the caption for another photograph from the recovery operation, linked to below.
Unlike the splashdown of the final manned Skylab mission, this one was televised. The number of total views pretty much sums up the marginalization & forgotten nature of Skylab, then and of course, now...a whopping 1.4K views in 9 years. Sad:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YII3fQig1A
Credit: lunarmodule5/YouTube
Despite Bill Pogue’s statements at the following link, to me, it'll always be Skylab 1, not Skylab 2.
www.collectspace.com/resources/naming_spacecraft.html
Credit: collectSPACE website