| Apollo–Soyuz Test Project | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission insignia |
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| Mission statistics | |||||
| Mission name | Apollo–Soyuz Test Project | ||||
| Command Module | CSM-111 14,768 kg (32,560 lb) |
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| Spacecraft mass | 16,780 kg/37,000 lb total (CSM plus 2,012 kg/4,440 lb Docking Module) |
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| Crew size | 3 | ||||
| Launch vehicle | Saturn IB | ||||
| Launch pad | LC 39B Kennedy Space Center Florida, USA |
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| Launch date | July 15, 1975 19:50 UTC | ||||
| Landing | July 24, 1975 21:18 UTC | ||||
| Mission duration | 9 d 01 h 28 m | ||||
| Number of orbits | 148 | ||||
| Apogee | 231 km (144 mi) | ||||
| Perigee | 217 km (135 mi) | ||||
| Orbital period | 88.91 m | ||||
| Orbital inclination | 51.75° | ||||
| Distance traveled | ~5,990,000 km (3,720,000 mi) | ||||
| Crew photo | |||||
| Left to right: Slayton, Stafford, Brand, Leonov, Kubasov | |||||
| Related missions | |||||
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| Soyuz 19 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission statistics | |||||
| Mission name | Soyuz 19 | ||||
| Spacecraft type | Soyuz 7K-TM | ||||
| Spacecraft mass | 6,790 kg (15,000 lb) | ||||
| Crew size | 2 | ||||
| Call sign | Союз (Soyuz - "Union") | ||||
| Launch vehicle | Soyuz-U | ||||
| Launch pad | Gagarin's Start Baikonur Cosmodrome Kazakh SSR |
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| Launch date | July 15, 1975 12:20 UTC | ||||
| Landing | July 21, 1975 10:50 UTC | ||||
| Mission duration | 5 d 22 h 30 m | ||||
| Number of orbits | 96 | ||||
| Apogee | 231 km (144 mi) | ||||
| Perigee | 218 km (135 mi) | ||||
| Orbital period | 88.92 min | ||||
| Orbital inclination | 51.76° | ||||
| Distance traveled | ~3,900,000 km (2,400,000 mi) | ||||
| Related missions | |||||
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The Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) (Russian: Экспериментальный полёт «Союз» — «Аполлон») (Eksperimantalniy polyot Soyuz-Apollon), in July 1975, was the first joint U.S.–Soviet space flight, and the last flight of an Apollo spacecraft. Its primary purpose was as a symbol of the policy of détente that the two superpowers were pursuing at the time, and marked the end of the Space Race between them that began in 1957.
The mission included both joint and separate scientific experiments (including an engineered eclipse of the Sun by Apollo to allow Soyuz to take photographs of the solar corona), and provided useful engineering experience for future joint US–Russian space flights, such as the Shuttle–Mir Program and the International Space Station.
ASTP was the last manned US space mission until the first Space Shuttle flight in April 1981. It was also U.S. astronaut Donald "Deke" Slayton's only space flight. He was chosen as one of the original Mercury Seven in April 1959, but had been grounded until 1972 for medical reasons.
Contents |
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Thomas P. Stafford Fourth spaceflight |
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| Command Module Pilot | Vance D. Brand First spaceflight |
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| Docking Module Pilot | Donald K. Slayton Only spaceflight |
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| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Alan L. Bean | |
| Command Module Pilot | Ronald E. Evans | |
| Docking Module Pilot | Jack R. Lousma | |
Jack Swigert had originally been assigned as the command module pilot for the ASTP prime crew, but prior to the official announcement he was removed as punishment for his involvement in the Apollo 15 postage stamp scandal.[1]
| Position | Cosmonaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Alexei Leonov Second spaceflight |
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| Flight Engineer | Valeri Kubasov Second spaceflight |
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| Position | Cosmonaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Anatoly Filipchenko | |
| Flight Engineer | Nikolai Rukavishnikov | |
The Apollo–Soyuz Test Project entailed the docking of an American Apollo spacecraft with the then-Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. Although the Soyuz was given a mission designation number (Soyuz 19) as part of the ongoing Soyuz program, it was referred to simply as "Soyuz" for the duration of the joint mission. The Apollo mission was not officially numbered, though some sources refer to it as "Apollo 18".[2]
To dock the two spacecraft, the Apollo command module was launched with a docking module, designated APAS-75. Like the Apollo Lunar Module on the lunar flights, the APAS had to be retrieved from the S-IVB upper-stage of the Saturn IB rocket after launch. The docking module was designed as both an adapter, as the Apollo and Soyuz had different docking mechanisms, and an airlock, as the Apollo was pressurized at 5.0 psi using pure oxygen, while the Soyuz used a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere at sea level pressure. One end of the docking module was attached to the Apollo using the same "probe-and-drogue" docking mechanism used on the Lunar Module and the Skylab space station, while its other end had the APAS design feature, which Soyuz 19 carried in place of its standard Soyuz/Salyut system at the time. The APAS fitting with the Soyuz 19 was releasable, allowing the two spacecraft to separate.
The Apollo flew with a three-man crew on board: Tom Stafford, Vance Brand and Deke Slayton. Stafford had already flown into space three times, including within eight miles of the lunar surface, and was the first General Officer to fly into space (he was a brigadier general in the USAF at the time of the flight; he would retire with three stars in 1979). Slayton was one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts selected in 1958, but an irregular heartbeat grounded him until 1972. He became head of NASA's astronaut office and, after a lengthy medical program, selected himself for this mission. At the time, Slayton was the oldest person to fly in space and the one with the longest gap between selection as an astronaut and flight into space. Brand, meanwhile, had trained with the Apollo Spacecraft used for this mission during his time as a backup Apollo 15 command module pilot, and had served multiple stints as a backup Skylab commander. The closest he came to flying prior to ASTP was as commander for the Skylab Rescue mission mustered to potentially retrieve the crew of Skylab 3 due to a fuel leak on that mission's Apollo CSM.
The Soyuz flew with two men: Alexey Leonov and Valery Kubasov. Leonov became the first man to walk in space on Voskhod 2 in 1965. Kubasov, who flew on Soyuz 6 in 1969, ran some of the earliest space manufacturing experiments. Both were slated to have flown on the ill-fated Soyuz 11 in 1971 (Leonov as commander, Kubasov as the flight engineer), but were grounded because Kubasov was suspected to have tuberculosis. The two-man crew on the Soyuz was a result of the modifications needed to allow the cosmonauts to wear the Sokol space suit during launch, docking, and reentry.
Although the equipment developed for the ASTP was only of use as a one-off, the program allowed NASA to maintain a manned space focus following the end of the Apollo and Skylab missions. The Apollo's Saturn IB launcher and CSM were all surplus material. The Soyuz used was, at the time, a variation of the post-Soyuz 11 two-man design, with the incorporation of solar panels instead of batteries for "solo" flights (those not destined to the civilian Salyut or military Almaz space stations). Six ASTP-class Soyuz spacecraft were built: the primary, which flew the ASTP mission, one for "hot backup" (it was at the launch site and fully fueled, later it was disassembled), one as a "cold" backup, which was later used on the last "solo" Soyuz flight in 1976, but with the APAS docking adapter replaced with the MKF-6 multispectral camera. Before actual mission two craft were launched without any crew as KOSMOS satellites, and the last rehearsal was the Soyuz-16 crewed flight with APAS docking mechanism testing.
The ASTP-class Soyuz 7K-TM spacecraft was designed to operate, during the docking phase, at a reduced nitrogen/oxygen pressure of 10.2 psi, allowing easier transfers between the Apollo and Soyuz.
The Soyuz and Apollo flights launched within seven-and-a-half hours of each other on July 15, and docked on July 17. Three hours later, the two mission commanders, Stafford and Leonov, exchanged the first international handshake in space through the open hatch of the Soyuz. NASA had calculated that the historic handshake would have taken place over the British seaside resort of Bognor Regis,[3] but a delay resulted in its occurrence being over the town of Metz in France.[4]
While the two ships were docked, the three Americans and two Soviets conducted joint scientific experiments, exchanged flags and gifts (including tree seeds which were later planted in the two countries), signed certificates, visited each other's ships, ate together, and conversed in each other's languages. (Because of Stafford's pronounced drawl when speaking Russian, Leonov later joked that there were three languages spoken on the mission: Russian, English, and "Oklahomski.") There were also docking and redocking maneuvers, during which the two spacecraft reversed roles and the Soyuz became the "active" ship.
After 44 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 Soviets remained in space for five days, and the Americans for nine, during which the Apollo crew also conducted experiments in Earth observation.
The mission was considered a great success, both technically and as a public-relations exercise for both nations. The only serious problem was due to an Apollo crew mistake during re-entry preparations that resulted in a very rough landing and the entry of noxious gas into the spacecraft. The reaction control system was inadvertently left on during descent, and highly toxic nitrogen tetroxide was sucked into the spacecraft as it drew in outside air. Brand briefly lost consciousness, and Slayton reported suffering nausea. As a precaution, the three astronauts were hospitalized for two weeks in Honolulu. In his autobiography, Slayton reported that the crew received doses of nitrogen tetroxide approaching the level that would cause death. The three upright bags in the nosecone were designed to upright the command module capsule if necessary after splashdown. These upright bags partially failed, leaving the capsule upside down on the ocean's surface awaiting rescue by navy divers. This is the only time this situation occurred during the entire Apollo program. During the post mission hospitalization, a lesion was discovered on Slayton's left lung, not believed to have been caused by the fumes. A biopsy determined it was benign.[5]
The ASTP was the final flight of an Apollo spacecraft. Immediately after the launch of the Apollo spacecraft, preparations began to convert Launch Pad 39B and the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center for use by the Space Shuttle, the United States' next manned spacecraft program. Launch Pad 39A had already been closed after the launch of Skylab.
The Apollo command module from the mission is on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The descent module of Soyuz 19 is on display at the RKK Energiya museum in Korolyov, Moscow Oblast, Russia.
Displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. is the Apollo Command and Service Module used for testing prior to the mission, the Docking Module used as a back-up, and a model of the Soyuz spacecraft used by the Russians.
A minor planet, 2228 Soyuz-Apollo, discovered in 1977 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, is named after the mission.[6]
The US Postal Service issued the Apollo–Soyuz commemorative stamps, honoring the United States–Soviet link up in space, on July 15, 1975, the day of the launch. The remaining crew's most recent reunion was on July 16, 2010, when Leonov, Kubasov, Stafford and Brand met at an Omega timepiece store in New York City. All except Leonov participated in a public roundtable that evening. Omega had produced several watches to be used on the mission.[7]
In the wake of the mission, a large Soyuz–Apollo monument was constructed outside TsUP (the Russian space control center) in Moscow. It consisted of a metal Earth overarched by an arc terminating in a scale model of the joined Apollo–Soyuz spacecraft. It was damaged when a vehicle collided with it in the late 1990s, and was removed for repairs.
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