How an Astronaut Fooled NASA With a 1973 Space Prank

In 1973, astronaut Owen Garriott played an elaborate prank on mission control during the Skylab 3 mission. He made them believe his wife, Helen, had unexpectedly arrived at the space station. The hoax remained a secret for 25 years before Garriott finally revealed the truth. The Skylab space station, America's first, had been launched earlier that year. Garriott and his crewmates were 59.5 days into their mission—the longest human stay in space at the time—when the prank unfolded. Months before liftoff, Helen Garriott recorded a series of lines on a tape recorder, pretending she had reached Skylab to deliver a hot meal.

During a routine radio check, Bob Crippen, a friend of Garriott's working in mission control, initiated the call. The recorded voice of Helen suddenly announced her arrival, leaving the ground crew stunned. They genuinely believed she had somehow made it into orbit. Garriott and Crippen had rehearsed the exchange in advance, ensuring the timing and delivery sounded convincing.

The prank went undiscovered for decades. It was only in 1998, at a mission anniversary event, that Garriott confessed to staging the illusion. The revelation surprised many, as the crew on the ground had been completely fooled by the staged conversation. The hoax became one of the most memorable moments from the Skylab 3 mission. Garriott's clever use of a pre-recorded message and careful planning tricked even experienced mission controllers. The prank remains a lighthearted footnote in the history of early spaceflight.