These two articles describe the initial issues that struck Skylab 1 upon launch, the undeployed solar panels, and the missing meteoroid shield. The articles also describe how the crew aboard Skylab 2 resolved those issues upon arriving at the space habitat.
This article describes the scientific importance of the Skylab missions, and specifically focuses on the importance of having the Skylab program be a manned series of missions, as opposed to unmanned.
