This patch is one of a set of three that represent the different missions to Skylab, a U.S. space station that launched May 14, 1973. The third and last crew to live and work aboard Skylab were commander Gerald Carr, pilot William Pogue, and science pilot Edward Gibson. According to NASA tradition, each space crew designs their own mission patch depicting the objectives or spirit of their mission. The Skylab III patch reflects the variety of life sciences and physical sciences research conducted aboard Skylab, as well as this crew's unique opportunity to observe Comet Halley from space.

NASA’s operations dubbed the launch of the station itself as Skylab 1, designating each of the subsequent crewed flights as Skylabs 2-4. The mission insignia and patch designs also created by NASA, however, used different mission numbers, labeling the astronauts’ flights Skylab 1-3. In addition, Skylab souvenirs used both Roman and Arabic numbers: Skylabs I, II, and 3. These details make Skylab spaceflight emblems somewhat unique in the tradition of NASA mission patches.

Mance Clayton gave this patch to the National Collection in 1982.