Apollo-Soyuz

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the first joint flight of the US and Soviet space programs.

It took place in the second half of July 1975 and entailed the docking of an American Apollo space craft with the Soviet Soyuz 19 space craft. The former had three crew on board – Tom Stafford, Vance Brand and Deke Slayton, the latter had two – Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov.

The docking was made possible by a specially-built adapter that was carried into orbit with the Apollo craft and took place on July 17, 1975. The historic handshake between Stafford and Leonov, the two mission commanders, had originally been scheduled at such time that it would have taken place over Bognor Regis, but a delay resulted in its actual occurrence being over continental Europe.

While docked, the two crews conducted joint scientific experiments and spent time in each others' craft. After forty-four hours together, the two ships separated, and maneuvered to use the Apollo to create an artificial solar eclipse to allow the crew of the Soyuz to take photographs of the solar corona. Another brief docking was made before the ships went their separate ways.

The mission was a great success, both technically and as a public-relations exercise for both sides. The only serious problem that arose was due to the Apollo crew making a mistake during their preparations for re-entry that resulted in a very rough landing and the capsule filling with noxious fumes. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries.

This was the final flight of an Apollo spacecraft. The Command Module is on display at Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Table of contents

1 Crew 2 Mission parameters 3 External links

Crew

• Thomas P. Stafford (Apollo)
• Vance Brand (Apollo)
• Deke Slayton (Apollo)
• Alexei Leonov (Soyuz 19)
• Valery Kubasov (Soyuz 19)

• The Partnership: A History of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – the official NASA history of the mission