Former Skylab and Shuttle astronaut Paul Weitz dead at 85

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Paul Weitz, a former NASA astronaut who lived on board Skylab before commanding the maiden mission of space shuttle Challenger, died on Monday (Oct. 23). He was 85.

Weitz died peacefully at his home in Flagstaff, Arizona, as reported by his daughter, by way of a family friend. He had been diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndromes, or MDS, a form of cancer.

A member of NASA's fifth group of astronauts selected in April 1966, Weitz served on the first crew to live and work aboard an American space station. He flew as pilot on the Skylab 2 (SL-2) mission in 1973, helping to save the orbital workshop, while also setting a record for the longest single spaceflight, 28 days, at the time.

Ten years later, Weitz led the STS-6 crew on the first flight of Challenger, NASA's second space shuttle orbiter to fly.

In total, Weitz logged 33 days, one hour and 13 minutes in space, including 2 hours and 16 minutes on spacewalks.

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