Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

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Lore & Background

The crew consisted of American astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand, and Deke Slayton, and Soviet cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov. They carried out joint and independent experiments. Preparations for the mission provided experience for later joint American–Russian space flights, such as the Shuttle–Mir program and the International Space Station. Apollo–Soyuz was the last crewed U.S. spaceflight for nearly six years until STS-1, the first launch of the Space Shuttle on 12 April 1981. The first Soviet space mission to be televised live during launch, in space, and during landing was Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 in January 1969, not ASTP. Soyuz 19 was also the first Soviet spacecraft to which a foreign flight crew had access before flight; the Apollo crew were permitted to inspect it and the launch and crew training site, which was an unprecedented sharing of information with Americans about any Soviet space program.

In Their Own Story

The purpose and catalyst of Apollo–Soyuz was the policy of détente between the two Cold War superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. Tensions ran high while the United States was engaged in the Vietnam War. After John Glenn's 1962 orbital flight, an exchange of letters between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev led to a series of discussions led by NASA Deputy Administrator Hugh Dryden and Soviet scientist Anatoly Blagonravov. Their 1962 talks led to the Dryden–Blagonravov agreement, which was formalized in October of that year, the same time the two countries were in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In October 1970, Soviet Academy of Sciences president Mstislav Keldysh responded to NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine's letter proposing a cooperative space mission. At a meeting in January 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon's Foreign Policy Adviser Henry Kissinger told NASA administrator George Low: "As long as you stick to space, do anything you want to do. You are free to commit – in fact, I want you to tell your counterparts in Moscow that the President has sent you on this mission." American and Soviet engineers settled their differences for a possible docking in meetings between June and December 1971 in Houston and Moscow, including Bill Creasy's design of the Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS) between the two ships that would allow either to be active or passive during docking. By April 1972, both the United States and the USSR signed an Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes, committing both to the launch of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

Reader's Guide

The ASTP entailed the docking of an American Apollo command and service module (CSM) with a Soviet Soyuz 7K-TM spacecraft. The Apollo spacecraft was launched with a docking module specially designed to enable the two spacecraft to dock with each other, used only once for this mission. The Saturn IB launch vehicle and CSM were surplus material. Both sides had severe criticisms of the other side's engineering. Soviet spacecraft were designed with automation in mind; each Soyuz spacecraft had been designed to minimize risk due to human error by having fewer manual controls. By contrast, the Apollo spacecraft was designed to be operated by humans and required highly trained astronauts to operate. The Soviet Union criticized the Apollo spacecraft as being "extremely complex and dangerous." The Americans also had concerns about Soviet spacecraft. Christopher C. Kraft, director of the Johnson Space Center, criticized the design of the Soyuz: "We in NASA rely on redundant components – if an instrument fails during flight, our crews switch to another in an attempt to continue the mission. Each Soyuz component, however, is designed for a specific function; if one fails, the cosmonauts land as soon as possible." The American astronauts had a very low opinion for the Soyuz spacecraft as it was a craft that was designed to be controlled from the ground. Eventually Glynn Lunney, the Manager of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Program, warned them about talking to the press about their dissatisfaction as they had offended the Soviets. NASA was worried that any slight would cause the Soviets to pull out and the mission to be scrapped.

Did You Know?

• It was American astronaut Deke Slayton's only space flight. He was chosen as one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts in April 1959, but had been grounded until 1972 for medical reasons.
• It was the last space mission for Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who had become the first person to walk in space during the March 1965 Voskhod 2 mission.
• Jack Swigert had originally been assigned as the command module pilot for the ASTP backup crew, but he was removed before the official announcement as punishment for his involvement in the Apollo 15 postal covers inciden
• The first Soviet space mission to be televised live during launch, in space, and during landing was Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 in January 1969, not ASTP.
• Soyuz 19 was the first Soviet spacecraft to which a foreign flight crew had access before flight; the Apollo crew were permitted to inspect it and the launch and crew training site.