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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – NASA officials confirm that former astronaut and long-duration spaceflight pioneer Owen Garriott, 88, died Monday at his home in Huntsville, Alabama. Garriott flew aboard the Skylab space station and on the Space Shuttle Columbia and spent a total of 70 days in space.

“The astronauts, scientists, and engineers at Johnson Space Center are saddened by the loss of Owen Garriott,” said Chief Astronaut Pat Forrester. “We remember the history he made during the Skylab and space shuttle programs that helped shape the space program we have today. Not only was he a bright scientist and astronaut, he and his crewmates set the stage for international cooperation in human spaceflight. He also was the first to participate in amateur radio from space, a hobby many of our astronauts still enjoy today.”

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

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