Skylab was the first United States space station launched in 1973. It was a NASA project and the first American space station to be placed in orbit. Skylab was a multi-module space station that orbited Earth from 1973 to 1979. It was designed to provide a place for astronauts to live and work in space, and it was equipped with a variety of scientific instruments and experiments. Skylab was visited by three crews of astronauts during its time in orbit, and it was eventually deorbited and burned up in the atmosphere in 1979.