Former Astronaut Owen Garriott, a resident of Huntsville, passed away at age 88.



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Scientific astronaut Owen K. Garriott, scientific pilot of the Skylab 3 mission, is posted to the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) console in the multiple docking station adapter of Skylab Space Station in Earth orbit. From this console, astronauts actively control the solar physics ATM telescope. (Sl3-108-1288)
(Photo: NASA.gov)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – NASA officials confirm that former astronaut and former long-distance space flight pioneer Owen Garriott died Monday at his home in Huntsville, Alabama. Garriott boarded the Skylab Space Station and the Space Shuttle Columbia and spent a total of 70 days in space.

"Astronauts, scientists and engineers at the Johnson Space Center are saddened by the loss of Owen Garriott," said Chief Astronaut Pat Forrester. "We remember the story he made during the Skylab and Space Shuttle programs that helped shape the space program we have today." He was not only a brilliant scientist and an astronaut, but also his crewmembers set the stage for international cooperation in the field of manned spaceflight. He was also the first to participate in amateur radio since space, a hobby that many of our astronauts still enjoy today. "

Garriott was the scientific pilot of Skylab 3, the second crewed Skylab mission, and was in orbit from July 28 to September 25, 1973, setting a world record for the duration. On his second and final flight, Garriott was a mission specialist on the ninth Space Shuttle mission and the first six-person flight aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1983.

For more information on his life and career, click here:

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