William R. “Bill” Pogue, a former astronaut and retired Air Force colonel from Sand Springs who was the pilot for the third and final Skylab space station mission, died Tuesday at his home in Florida, family members said. He was 84.

Funeral services are pending.

Pogue, together with astronauts Gerald Carr and Edward Gibson, spent 84 consecutive days in space from 1973 to 1974 aboard Skylab, the first American space station.

Their 12 weeks in orbit was a record at the time, topping the previous Skylab mission’s eight weeks. They orbited the earth 1,214 times while aboard the station, traveling 35.5 million miles

Pogue made two space walks during the mission.

Born Jan. 23, 1930, in Okemah, Pogue grew up in Sand Springs.

After graduating from Sand Springs High School in 1947, he entered the Air Force, beginning what would be a distinguished 25-year career.

Among the highlights, he was a combat fighter pilot in Korea and later spent two years as an aerobatic pilot with the Air Force’s Thunderbirds.

In 1966, Pogue was among the applicants selected by NASA for the space program.