Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

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.

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.