William Pogue, Skylab astronaut, born 1930

William "Bill" Pogue, born January 23, 1930 in Okemah, Oklahoma, went into space as part of the Skylab 4 crew November 1973-February 1974.  It was the third and final crew aboard the U.S.' first space station.  He received his Master of Science degree in Math from Oklahoma State University in 1960.

Pogue was in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 until he was selected by NASA for the Apollo program.  He was the pilot of Skylab 4 with fellow astronauts Gerald Carr and Edward Gibson. 

Pogue retired from the Air Force and NASA in 1975.

He passed away in Cocoa Beach, Florida March 3, 2014 from natural causes.

Happy birthday, Skylab 4 astronaut Edward Gibson!

Edward Gibson, born November 8, 1936 in Buffalo, New York, made one trip into space aboard Skylab 4, the last manned mission to the space station.  With Commander Gerald Carr and Pilot William Pogue, he spent 84 days in space, which was a record at that time.  It was the only flight for all three men.

After his retirement from NASA, he wrote two novels, Reach and In The Wrong Hands, both science fiction about space travel.

Skylab 4 launched 1973

Carr, Gibson and Pogue

The third manned Skylab mission, the third and final crew to the first space station, lifted off November 16, 1973.  The crew, Commander Gerald P. Carr, Science Pilot Edward G. Gibson and Pilot William R. Pogue, spent 84 days in space, the longest period at that time.

During the mission, the crew complained they were being pushed too hard, being made to work long hours without sufficient rest.  NASA thought they weren't working hard enough or efficient enough.  On New Year's Day 1974, the crew, fed up with their work schedule, turned off their communications and enjoyed the view of Earth for a day.  NASA did not find that even remotely funny,  but their work schedule was modified and the crew completed more work than scheduled.

Part of their mission was to make observations of Comet Kohoutek.