posted 05-27-2010 08:04 AM               

In anticipation of the 35th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project this summer, we have significantly augmented our website devoted to this topic.

Special thanks to Liz Suckow and Colin Fries for assembling and posting online a number of new historical documents and videos for this site.

posted 07-16-2010 02:45 PM               

Apollo-Soyuz crew reunites for 35th anniversary

The four surviving American astronauts and Soviet-era cosmonauts who flew the first international space mission, the July 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), reunited on Thursday to celebrate the flight's 35th anniversary and introduce a commemorative edition of the watch they wore in space.

Thomas Stafford and Vance Brand, who with the late Donald "Deke" Slayton formed the American ASTP crew, met with their Russian counterparts, Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov at the Omega Watches Boutique in New York City...

posted 07-17-2010 12:55 AM               

Looking at the footage, there are too many Block 2 features on that display model for me to think it is a modified Block 1. If so, everything looks Block 2 from the service module going back to the SPS engine mount. Somebody really would have had to go to a lot of trouble to convert it since the Block 1 and 2 craft were VERY different from one another. Of course, perhaps the CM part is just a Block 1 CSM while the service module is a model/mockup.

posted 07-17-2010 10:33 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by dom:
Is it an engineering mock-up used during ASTP training, a recent replica or the real thing?

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posted 07-17-2010 01:59 PM               

It wouldn't be unreasonable to think the U.S. provided the Apollo CSM during the same time period.

National Air and Space Museum Credit: Eric Long/NASM

Energia Museum Credit: Seiji Yoshimoto/npointercos.jp

posted 07-20-2010 05:22 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by dom:
The obvious question now is just when was it given to Russia?

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posted 07-22-2010 06:57 AM               

I opened the book and an autographed vintage litho of the mission fell out on the ground! Needless to say I was speechless.

I think because of collectSPACE I took a second look at that book and found a treasure...

1. Apollo-Soyuz mission 1975 (1.2 billion)

2. The food Deke shared with Alexei ($102.00)

3. An autographed vintage Apollo-Soyuz Litho found in the trash (Priceless)

posted 07-15-2011 03:50 PM               

President Obama: I also understand that today marks an anniversary of sorts for us and our Russian colleagues. Thirty six years ago, we launched a U.S. Apollo spacecraft and a Soviet Union Soyuz capsule towards a rendezvous in space.

It is pretty exciting to know that American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts are not just shaking hands 36 years later but are working every day with partners from other nations to represent humankind coming together in space.

Cosmonaut Sergei Volkov: Yes Mr. President, our crew's really international right now. Here are representatives of three agencies, NASA, Roscosmos and JAXA.

We are working as one family actually. Not as a crew — we are more than just part of or representatives of each country — we are one big family.

Now those [STS-135] guys who appeared almost a week ago share with us our brilliant International Space Station.

posted 07-17-2012 04:45 PM               

The same control room was active 37 years ago today for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

I had the privilege of bringing Apollo 10 and Apollo-Soyuz astronaut Gen. Tom Stafford into the ISS control room today. He was on a VIP tour led by my good friend David Cisco (left) from Space Center Houston Level 9 Tours. Controllers on duty were thrilled to meet such an historic figure from the US human Spaceflight program, as was I! — Bill Foster

posted 07-17-2012 07:16 PM               

Apollo-Soyuz was one of the most memorable launch coverages of my "liftoff-viewing career," so-to-speak.

Not just the launch, but the entire mission from start to finish was filled with history-making news, local events and functions that reminded me, in some ways, of the earlier majestic Apollo era that had captivated the entire Florida Space Coast and the whole world!

For me, personally, ASTP would be a launching pad of sorts in developing and operating a space-related hobby and occupation that even continues on to this day.

posted 07-17-2012 10:35 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Ken Havekotte:
37 years ago! Was there anyone else from cS able to witness the "live" launch of Apollo from KSC or the Soyuz from Baykonur?

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posted 07-18-2012 01:11 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Ken Havekotte:
Was there anyone else from cS able to witness the "live" launch of Apollo from KSC or the Soyuz from Baykonur?

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posted 07-15-2014 07:11 PM               

On his blog, Artemyev explained that the rendering of the ASTP project logo (which appears to be signed by Alexei Leonov and the late Valery Kubasov) was something he brought to space with his personal items.

posted 07-17-2020 08:37 AM               

45th Anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

The United States and Russia have a long and productive history of civil space cooperation dating back to a significant time in the history of our respective nations. On July 17, 1975, NASA astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand, and Deke Slayton broke free of Cold War tensions and Earth's gravity to shake hands with Soviet cosmonauts Alexey Leonov and Valery Kubasov in a moment forever associated with peaceful cooperation in space. More than the first time two spacecraft from different nations docked together in orbit, this mission symbolized the potential of what could be achieved when nations work together to further mutual objectives.

Who could have foreseen that this "handshake in space" would lay the foundation for the tremendous accomplishments of the subsequent decades? From Apollo-Soyuz to the Shuttle-Mir program in the 1990s – from decades-long cooperation on scientific exploration of the Moon and Mars to the International Space Station – together our nations have pushed the boundaries of technology and undertaken new challenges on behalf of humanity.

NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos are key contributors to one of the world's greatest technological achievements, the International Space Station. Together with space agencies from Europe, Japan, and Canada, we built an unprecedented research laboratory in low-Earth orbit. For more than 20 years, U.S. and Russian crews have lived and worked shoulder-to-shoulder aboard the International Space Station. Greater still, more than a hundred countries have used the space station's capabilities to conduct research and increase the scope of human knowledge.

Space exploration has become a global endeavor that yields advances in science, technology, innovation, and diplomacy for the benefit all of humanity. Nations around the world have navigated complex relationships to achieve unprecedented accomplishments together in space. Although it has not always been easy, the shared experiences of astronauts, cosmonauts, scientists, and engineers working toward a common goal have created indelible bonds and life-long friendships.

Our nation believes in exploration because it is an investment in the future – not just in space, but here on Earth. History has shown us that achievements in space inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. By exploring space, we increase humanity's knowledge and understanding of our planet, our solar system, and our universe – all while inspiring the next generation to make their own giant leaps. Despite challenges here on Earth, we remain focused on future lunar exploration activities under the Artemis program, which will leverage the largest and most diverse international space exploration coalition in history. However, today we look to the past to celebrate the "handshake in space" that made our present and future plans for international cooperation possible.

posted 07-17-2020 08:40 AM               

Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of the Roscosmos State Corporation, congratulates NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on the 45th anniversary of the Soyuz-Apollo mission

Today is the 45th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project that was the first of a kind experience of docking of two spacecraft in space, which were designed by different engineering schools, and development of the first ever international orbiting package.

It is widely stated that spacecraft docked while passing Moscow and Soviet cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov shook hands with American astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Deke Slayton were over the Elbe River in Germany, where 30 years earlier the historical meeting of the allies who eradicated fascism took place. I deem it necessary to make a pointed reference to the fact that under the challenging Cold War conditions this in-orbit meeting in 1975 and collective scientific and engineering community activity of USSR and USA has signaled a thaw in relations and made it clear for our political leaders to enter a peaceful process of the cooperation development.

The idea of international cooperation in the field of space has been around for ages. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky stated power and resource aggregation necessity in space exploration activities away back in the twenties of the past century.

The leading Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer Sergei Korolev wrote about this fact a year before Yuri Gagarin space mission, "One can hope that in the colossal and noble work of space exploration there will be an increasing expansion of international cooperation of scientists, who will be imbued with the idea of work in the interests of humanity, for the sake of peace and progress."

Prophecies has come true and we may consider Soyuz-Apollo mission prosperous experience as a reference point for the International Space Station program, as well as for the future outer space exploration missions that could be seen only in the context of intense international cooperation, that aggregates resources, intelligence and ambitious determination of the pioneers.

posted 07-17-2020 04:54 PM               

45 years ago a milestone event in the history of world cosmonautics and international cooperation in space – the docking of the Soviet Soyuz-19 and the US Apollo spacecraft.

That handshake in space became a forerunner of the cooperation continues today at the International Space Station!

And we, the ISS-63 long-term Expedition crew congratulate everyone on this memorable date. Let this cooperation grow stronger!

posted 07-22-2020 05:08 PM               

The new documents released by Roscosmos are on the preparations for the launch, as opposed to the Apollo-Soyuz mission itself, which only lasted four days. Covering a period from November 1969 to June 1975, the documents are all from the head governmental branch that managed the Soviet space program, the so-called Ministry of General Machine Building (more commonly known by its acronym in Cyrillic “MOM”). This ministry oversaw a vast network and contractors that was in charge of the Soviet side of ASTP, including the organization currently known as the Energia Rocket-Space Corporation, which builds most of the hardware for Roscomos that is part of the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

Energia was actually formed as giant conglomerate in 1974, right in the middle of preparations for ASTP, and this now-forgotten transition hovers like a ghost over these documents...

The documents underscore three main points: how the Soviets planned to maintain secrecy about their program; how to ensure that they kept the July 1975 deadline despite numerous delays; and their early plans for a follow-on to the mission.