Book excerpt: Between May 1973 and February 1974 three teams of astronauts increased the American space endurance record from 14 days, set in 1965, to three months aboard the Skylab space station in missions lasting 28, 59 and 84 days. American astronauts did not surpass these records for over 20 years until the NASA Mir missions began in 1995. In "Skylab - America's space station", David Shayler chronicles the evolution of the station, its infrastructure on the ground including astronaut training, each of the three manned missions, summary of results, achievements and the lessons learned. The creation of the International Space Station is the real legacy of Skylab as American astronauts once again embark on extended missions around the Earth.