Apollo-Soyuz
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
| Mission Statistics |
| Mission Name: | Soyuz 19 |
| Call Sign: | Союз (Soyuz - "Union") |
| Number of Crew Members: | 2 |
| Launch: | July 15, 1975
12:20 UTC
Baikonur |
| Landing: | July 21, 1975
10:50 UTC
57° N, 67° E |
| Duration: | 5 days, 22 hours, 30 minutes |
| Number of Orbits: | 96 |
| Mission Patch |
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| Mission Statistics |
| Mission Name: | Apollo |
| Call Sign: | Apollo |
| Number of Crew Members: | 3 |
| Launch: | July 15, 1975
19:50 UTC
Kennedy Space Center |
| Launch Pad: | 39B |
| Landing: | July 24, 1975
21:18 UTC |
| Duration: | 9 days, 1 hour, 28 minutes |
| Number of Orbits: | 148 |
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. The reaction control system was inadvertently left on during descent, producing uncombusted thruster propellant which was then sucked into the capsule as its pressure equalized with the outside air. 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.
Crew
Mission parameters
- Mass: 14768 kg (Apollo), 6790 kg (Soyuz)
- Perigee: 152 km (Apollo), 186 km (Soyuz)
- Apogee: 166 km (Apollo), 220 km (Soyuz)
- Inclination: 51.7° (Apollo), 51.8° (Soyuz)
- Period: 87.6 minutes (Apollo), 88.5 minutes (Soyuz)
External links
Referenced By
17 July | 17th July | 1975 | Aleksei Leonov | Alexei Leonov | Apollo Astronauts | Apollo Moon landing | Apollo Program | Apollo mission | Apollo moon landings | Columbia 1 | Deke Slayton | July 17 | July 17th | List of astronauts by selection | List of crewed space missions chronologically | List of human spaceflights, 1961-1986 | List of human spaceflights by program | List of human spaceflights chronologically | List of manned space missions chronologically | OV-102 | STS-1 | Saturn (rocket family) | Saturn rocket | Soyuz 16 | Soyuz 18 | Soyuz 21 | Soyuz 22 | Soyuz program | Soyuz programme | Space Shuttle Columbia | Valeri Kubasov | Valery Kubasov
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