Oklahomans and Space: The First Space Station and Détente film screening

The Oklahoma History Center will have a screening of an episode from the 2014 OETA documentary series Oklahomans and Space on Saturday, November 6, from 1 to 3 p.m., in conjunction with the Oklahoma History Center’s featured exhibit Launch to Landing: Oklahomans and Space. The documentary series presents the history of the space program through the stories of the Oklahomans who participated in it. NASA footage and photographs, along with recently discovered long-lost film, help tell this epic story. The series also covers Oklahomans’ involvement in the story of human space exploration and the exploration of all the planets through space probes created by scientists and engineers.

The Oklahoma History Center will screen episode five, “The First Space Station and Détente.” This episode tells the story of Skylab, America’s first space station, which hosted three different crews. Two of those crews had an Oklahoman on board. Owen Garriott from Enid flew on the second Skylab mission, and Okemah native William Pogue flew the final Skylab mission. The episode also discusses the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, commanded by Oklahoman Thomas Stafford, which paved the way for future international flights, and how Oklahoman Fred Haise blazed a trail for the space shuttle by commanding the landing tests of the Enterprise shuttle test vehicle.

Bill Moore, producer of the documentary series and author of the book Oklahomans and Space (Oklahoma Historical Society, 2011), will join us for a Q&A session.

The film screening is free with a paid admission to the Oklahoma History Center and will be shown in the Chesapeake Event Center. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. Admission is free for OHS members; children under five; and active-duty military, veterans, and their dependents (with ID).