Joint Soviet-American space flight. "Soyuz-Apollo": Docking of the times of detente. Cabin and equipment

Electric models of the Apollo and Soyuz-19 spacecraft.
The real Soyuz-19 descent vehicle is visible at the bottom right.
RSC Energia, Korolev. Photo by Yuri Parshintsev.

But the descent module "Soyuz-19"
close-up - with personal signatures
cosmonauts Leonov and Kubasov.
RSC Energia, Korolev, Museum of Cosmonautics.
Photo by Sergey Gorbunov.

On July 15, 1975, at 15:20 Moscow time, the Soyuz-19 spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov on board, and seven and a half hours later, from the Eastern Test Site at Cape Canaveral (USA) was Apollo spacecraft launched with astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald Slayton.

The ASTP program - the Apollo Soyuz Experimental Flight - was successfully carried out, although it was carried out by two rival space powers during the Cold War era. For the first time in the history of space navigation in near-Earth orbit, a space system was created and functioned for two days from docked spacecraft of the two countries with an international crew on board. The world community, prominent political figures from different countries considered the joint Soviet-American experiment "Soyuz-Apollo" as an important historical event, opening a new era in space exploration, and a significant contribution to improving Soviet-American relations and the entire international climate.

The first meeting of Soviet and American specialists on the problems of compatibility of means of rendezvous and docking of manned spacecraft and stations was held in Moscow on October 26-27, 1970. At the same time, working groups were formed to develop and agree on technical requirements to ensure the compatibility of these tools.

The practical start of the Soyuz-Apollo experimental project was laid on April 6, 1972 by the “Resulting Document of the Meeting of Representatives of the USSR Academy of Sciences and NASA USA on the Issue of Creating Compatible Means for Rendezvous and Docking of Manned Spacecraft and Stations of the USSR and the USA”.

On May 24, 1972, in Moscow, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A.N. Kosygin and US President R. Nixon signed the "Agreement between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes." In this "Agreement", in particular, in the third article it is written: "The parties agreed to carry out work on the creation of compatible means of rendezvous and docking of Soviet and American manned spacecraft and stations in order to increase the safety of human spaceflight and ensure the possibility of further joint scientific experiments. The first experimental flight for testing such means, which provides for the docking of the Soviet spacecraft of the Soyuz type and the American spacecraft of the Apollo type with the mutual transfer of cosmonauts, is scheduled for 1975.

The agreement determined the development of cooperation in other areas, such as meteorology, the study of the natural environment, the study of near-Earth space, the Moon and planets, space biology and medicine. However, the central place was occupied by the joint flight of manned spacecraft.

Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Konstantin Davydovich Bushuev and from the American side - Glynn Lunni were appointed technical directors of the Soyuz-Apollo experimental project, the USSR pilot-cosmonaut Alexei Stanislavovich Eliseev and Peter Frank were appointed flight directors, respectively.

In March 1973, NASA announced the composition of the crews of the Apollo spacecraft. The main crew included Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald Slayton, while the backup crew included Alan Bean, Ronald Evans and Jack Lausma. Two months later, the crews of the Soyuz spacecraft were determined. The first crew - Leonov Alexey Arkhipovich and Kubasov Valery Nikolaevich, the second - Filipchenko Anatoly Vasilyevich and Rukavishnikov Nikolai Nikolaevich, the third - Dzhanibekov Vladimir Alexandrovich and Andreev Boris Dmitrievich, the fourth - Romanenko Yuri Viktorovich and Ivanchenkov Alexander Sergeevich.

In accordance with the Soviet program of preparation for a joint space experiment, from December 2 to 8, 1974, the upgraded Soyuz-16 spacecraft was flown with the crew - Anatoly Filipchenko (commander) and Nikolai Rukavishnikov (flight engineer). During this flight, tests of the life support system were carried out (in particular, depressurization in the spacecraft compartments to 520 mm Hg), tests of the automatic system and individual components of the docking unit, testing the methodology for performing some joint scientific experiments and conducting one-sided experiments, forming an assembly orbits with a height of 225 km, etc.

The final stage of the project began on July 15, 1975 with the launch of the Soyuz-19 and Apollo spacecraft. The Soyuz-19 crew consisted of cosmonauts Alexei Leonov (commander) and Valery Kubasov (flight engineer), the Apollo crew consisted of astronauts Thomas Stafford (commander), Vance Brand (command module pilot) and Donald Slayton (docking module pilot). On July 17, the ships docked, becoming the prototype of the future international space station.

During this experimental flight, all the main tasks of the program were completed: rendezvous and docking of ships, transfers of crew members from ship to ship, interaction between Mission Control Centers, and all planned joint scientific experiments. The Soyuz-19 crew returned to Earth on July 21, the Apollo crew on July 25.

Chronicle of joint flight

Moscow maternity time (in brackets - flight time)

The Soyuz-19 spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 15, 1975 at 15:20:00.005 (00:00:00) and was launched into near-Earth orbit at 15:28:49.8 (00:08:49.8 ). The initial orbit of the spacecraft had the following parameters: minimum altitude - 186.5 km, maximum altitude - 222.1 km, orbital period - 88.528 min, inclination - 51.78°.

The commander of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft is Alexei Leonov, the flight engineer is Valery Kubasov.

After the completion of a comprehensive check of the onboard systems, the first of two maneuvers for the formation of the mounting orbit was carried out. The SKDU was turned on at 29:51:30.5 (05:31:30.5) and worked out the specified impulse - 3.6 m/s. Orbital parameters after the maneuver: minimum altitude - 192 km, maximum altitude - 228 km, period of revolution - 88.63 min, inclination - 51.78 °.

At 21:37 (06:17), the crew of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft began depressurizing from the living quarters. This operation, after which the pressure in the ship became 520 mm Hg. st., passed without comment.

In accordance with the flight program, the Apollo spacecraft was launched 7.5 hours after the Soyuz launch, at 22:50:01 (07:30:01). The initial orbit of the spacecraft had the following parameters: minimum altitude - 153 km, maximum altitude - 170 km. The backlog from the Soyuz is about 6000 km.

The commander of the Apollo spacecraft is Thomas Stafford, the pilot of the command module is Vance Brand, the pilot of the docking module is Donald Slayton.

After rebuilding the compartments of the Apollo spacecraft and separating it from the second stage of the launch vehicle at 02:35 (11:15), it was transferred to a circular orbit with a height of 165 km.

In addition to the planned program, the crew of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft carried out the first stage of repair of the onboard television system, the failure of which was discovered before the launch and did not allow TV broadcasts from the spacecraft on the first day of the flight.

The sleep of the cosmonauts began later than planned - at about 03:20 (12:00).

At 04:31:28 (13:11:28), the Apollo spacecraft performed its first phasing maneuver to establish the speed necessary to ensure spacecraft docking on the 36th orbit of the Soyuz. After the manner, the parameters of the Apollo orbit: the minimum height is 170 km, the maximum height is 230 km.

On the second day of the flight, the crew of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft continued to work with the television system, conducted some experiments, including one under the joint program (AS-1 "Zone-forming fungi") and began to prepare for the second maneuver of the formation of the mounting orbit. The SKDU was turned on at 15:43:40.8 (24:23:40.8) and worked out the specified impulse - 11.8 m/s. Orientation and program reversal passed without comment.

As a result of two maneuvers, an assembly orbit was formed with the following parameters: minimum altitude - 222.65 km, maximum altitude - 225.4 km, orbital period - 88.92 minutes, inclination - 51.79 °.

Then the cosmonauts tested the operation of the attitude control and motion control system in the mode of programmed turns and stabilization for the nominal docking process. The check passed without comment.

After this check, during the period of 18:25–19:20 (27:05–28:00), the cosmonauts completed repair work on the television system. At 19:25 (28:05) a color television camera was turned on and the first television report was made from the Soyuz-19.

At 20:30 (29:10), a corrective depressurization was carried out from the ship's compartments to 500 mm Hg. Art.

At the end of the day, the astronauts were engaged in scientific experiments.

The rest period for the Soyuz-19 spacecraft crew began at 01:50 (34:30).

The cosmonauts began their third working day with scientific experiments.

At 15:54:04 (48:34:04), the Apollo spacecraft performed the second phasing maneuver, after which the parameters of its orbit became: minimum altitude - 165 km, maximum altitude - 186 km.

At 16:01 (48:41), Vance Brand reported that he was observing the Soyuz through a sextant. The distance between the ships was about 400 km.

At 16:04 (48:44), radio communication was established between the ships.

Building orientation before docking of the ships began at 16:30 (49:10). The established orbital orientation was then maintained for 4.5 hours with good accuracy.

At 16:38:03 (49:18:03) Apollo conducted a combined correction maneuver and entered an orbit with the following parameters: minimum altitude - 186 km, maximum altitude - 206 km.

At 17:15:04 (49:55:04) Apollo performed a coelliptical maneuver, as a result of which its orbit began to have the following parameters: minimum altitude - 294 km, maximum altitude - 205 km. At the same time, in terms of orbit height, it was 20 km below the Soyuz orbit.

At 18:14:25 (50:54:25) the final phase of the ships approach began. The Apollo, which used to catch up with the Soyuz from behind, went 1.5 km ahead of it.

The time 18:34:23 (51:14:23), according to the FAI, is considered the beginning of a group flight, while the distance between the ships was less than 10 km.

At 19:03 (51:43), the Soyuz-19 spacecraft was switched to the inertial stabilization mode and made a program turn around the longitudinal axis by 60°.

Docking (touching) of the Soyuz-19 and Apollo spacecraft was recorded at 19:09:08.1 (51:49:08.1), joint compression - at 19:12:12.1 (51:52:12 ,1), nearly 3 minutes ahead of schedule.

The first docking was successfully carried out using the Apollo docking unit in the active state, i.e. with extended ring with guides. The conditions for initial contact between the ships were assessed using telemetric information and filming. The approach speed of the Apollo on contact was approximately 0.25 m/s and the lateral displacement of the ships was about 0.082 m. Significant angular mismatches of the ships were not found.

After a rough leak test in Soyuz-19, at 19:35 (52:15) the hatch between the descent module and the service compartment was opened, and at 19:38 (52:18) a precise leak test was started. At 20:00 (52:40), the tunnel between the Apollo docking module and the Soyuz's utility compartment was pressurized to 250 mmHg. Art.

All preparatory operations to ensure the first transition were completed at the scheduled time, and at 22:12 (54:52) the cosmonauts opened the hatch of the Soyuz's amenity compartment. The hatch of the Apollo docking module was opened at 22:17:29 (54:57:29). The symbolic handshake of the ship commanders was recorded at 22:19:25 (54:59:25).

The meeting of Alexei Leonov, Valery Kubasov, Thomas Stafford and Donald Slayton in the Soyuz-19 took place exactly according to the program and was observed on Earth on television. During the first transition, the planned TV reports, filming, the exchange of the USSR and US flags, the transfer of the UN flag, the exchange of souvenirs, the signing of the FAI certificate on the first docking of two spacecraft of different countries in orbit, a joint lunch were held. Kubasov and Slayton conducted the first joint phase of the AC-3 "Universal Furnace" experiment.

During subsequent operations to return the astronauts to the Apollo spacecraft after closing the hatch of the Soyuz utility compartment at 01:56 (58:36), an increase in pressure in the tunnel between the docking module and the utility compartment was noted (after depressurizing the tunnel to 250 mm Hg st.) about 1 mm Hg. st..?min.

The crews of the ships re-opened the hatches of the docking module and the amenity compartment and depressurized the tunnel between them.

Subsequent analysis by the Soviet and American Mission Control showed the effect of temperature fluctuations during depressurization on subsequent measurements, which was not taken into account during pre-flight preparation. The method for checking the tightness of the tunnel between the Apollo docking module and the Soyuz's amenity compartment has been changed.

Due to these difficulties, the cosmonauts' rest period began at 03:50 (60:30), 1.5 hours later than planned. In the future, when checking the tightness of the tunnel between the docking module and the domestic compartment using the modified method, there were no difficulties.

The next day, the astronauts conducted scientific experiments. Then the operations of the second transition began.

The cosmonauts opened the hatch of the amenity compartment at 12:45 (69:25). Vance Brand was transferred to the Soyuz-19 spacecraft, and Alexei Leonov was transferred to the Apollo spacecraft.

The hatch of the Soyuz's amenity compartment was closed at 13:30 (70:10), and the second period of joint activity of the crews began. During this period, crew members who transferred to another ship were familiarized in detail with the equipment and systems of another ship, conducted joint TV reports and filming, symbolic activities, and physical exercises. The second period of joint activity lasted 6 hours and 14 minutes.

During the third passage, the hatch of the Soyuz's amenity compartment was opened at 18:57 (75:37) and closed at 19:28 (76:08). During the third period of joint activity, Alexei Leonov and Thomas Stafford were on the Soyuz-19 spacecraft, and Vance Brand, Donald Slayton and Valery Kubasov were on the Apollo spacecraft. Cosmonauts and astronauts conducted a joint experiment AS-3 "Microbial Exchange", exchanged plant seeds. At 20:30–21:00 (77:10–77:40) a joint press conference was held for the crews.

During the final, fourth, transition of the cosmonauts and astronauts (return to their ships), the hatch of the Soyuz's amenity compartment was opened at 22:49 (79:29).

At 00:05 (80:45), the hatches between the ships were closed, and this ended the joint activity of mixed crews. The last, third, period of joint activity lasted 5 hours 08 minutes.

After closing the hatches of the Soyuz domestic compartment and the Apollo docking module, during the fourth transition, the pressure from the tunnel between the domestic compartment and the docking module was dropped to 50 mm Hg. Art., the tightness of both hatches was checked, then the pressure in the tunnel between them was dropped to zero.

The cosmonauts' rest period began at 02:30 (83:10).

At the beginning of the next working day, the cosmonauts conducted scientific experiments, pressurized the living compartments of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft to 800 mm Hg. Art. and began to prepare for undocking.

The ships undocked at 15:03:21 (95:43:21). The flight stage in the docked state lasted 43 h 54 min 11 s.

15 s after undocking, the Apollo began to perform the first of two escape maneuvers from the Soyuz spacecraft, which ensured the AS-4 experiment "Artificial solar eclipse". The maximum distance between the ships was 220 m. During this experiment, the Apollo spacecraft covered the Sun with itself, and the crew of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft took pictures. A total of 150 photographs were taken. After that, "Apollo" began a re-rapprochement with the "Soyuz".

The second (test) docking, during which the Soyuz-19 docking unit was active, was made at 15:33:40 (96:13:40). Joint compression ended at 15:40:35 (96:20:35). The ring with the guides of the docking unit of the Apollo spacecraft was retracted. According to telemetric information, during contact, the approach speed was within 0.15–0.18 m/s, the angular mismatch of the longitudinal axes was 0.7°, the roll mismatch was 2°, and the lateral displacement was 0.07–0.1 m.

The time interval between touch and hitch was 0.6 s. Within 6 s after the coupling, an off-design perturbation of the angular velocities of the Soyuz was recorded due to the operation of the engines of the Apollo spacecraft up to 2.2 ° / yaw and up to 0.7 ° / pitch. The docking unit of the Soyuz successfully damped the received disturbances, leveled the ships, and 42 s after the coupling, retraction automatically began. During the retraction, at 174 s after the coupling, immediately before the entry of the guide pins into the nests, an off-design perturbation of the ships was again noted. The angular velocities of the Soyuz reached 0.7°/yaw and up to 2°/pitch. The Apollo spacecraft at this time, with the help of manual control, performed unplanned yaw and pitch maneuvers, which caused corresponding perturbations. After touching the docking frames, the locks automatically began to close, and the joint was crimped at 15:40:35 (96:20:35). The duration of the mechanical docking process was 6 min 55 s. Checking the pressure between the seals of the joint confirmed its tightness. The docking device worked flawlessly.

After carrying out all the checks, the Soyuz-19 crew began to prepare for the final undocking.

The command for final undocking was issued at 18:23 (99:03). The divergence of the ships began at 18:26:12.5 (99:06:12.5). The second time the spacecraft was docked was 2 hours 52 minutes 33 seconds.

After the final undocking for 16 minutes, the Apollo maintained a distance between the ships of about 20 m, then it performed the maneuver necessary to conduct the AC-5 experiment "Ultraviolet absorption". Data collection for this experiment was carried out at a distance of 150 and 500 m using corner reflectors installed on the Soyuz. At 21:42:27 (102:22:27) Apollo performed an escape maneuver in the orbital plane with an impulse of 0.6 m/s. As a result, at 23:09 (109:49) it passed over the Soyuz at a distance of 1000 m and again collected data for the Ultraviolet Absorption experiment.

The joint phase of the flight ended with an evasive maneuver and data collection at a distance of 1000 m. At this time, the Apollo followed the Soyuz at a range increase rate of approximately 9 km per orbit.

According to the FAI, the time taken for the end of the formation flight of ships is 23:43:40 (110:23:40), when the distance between the ships became more than 10 km.

The crew of the Soyuz-19 took a rest from 01:20 to 07:10 (106:00–113:50).

Then, according to the preparation program for the descent, they conducted test inclusions of the ship's on-board systems.

The test activation of the SKDU was at 13:29:00.8 (118:09:00.8), an impulse of 1.5 m/s was worked out. The check passed without comment.

The day of the return of the crew of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft to Earth.

At 13:10:21 (141:50:21), the ship's ACS was turned on, ensuring that the given impulse was worked out. Orientation and stabilization during the descent were accurate.

The descent vehicle of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft made a soft landing near the city of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan at 13:50:51 (142:30:51). The landing process and the exit of the crew from the descent vehicle were broadcast on television in real time.

After the completion of joint operations in near-Earth orbit with the Soyuz-19 spacecraft, the Apollo spacecraft continued its independent flight to carry out the experiments envisaged by the American program.

During the joint flight of the Soyuz-19 and Apollo spacecraft, the main tasks of the program were completed, including rendezvous and docking of spacecraft, transfers of crew members from ship to ship, interaction between Mission Control Centers and crews, as well as joint scientific experiments

Used materials from the site http://www.mcc.rsa.ru/apollon_sojuz.htm

Experimental flight "Apollo" - "Soyuz" (abbr. ASTP; more common name - the program "Soyuz" - "Apollo"; English Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP)), also known as Handshake in Space - a program of joint experimental flight of the Soviet Soyuz-19 spacecraft and the American Apollo spacecraft.

The program was approved on May 24, 1972 by the Agreement between the USSR and the USA on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.
Director of the Soyuz-Apollo Project Center accompanies the Russian delegation

The main objectives of the program were:
testing elements of a compatible orbital rendezvous system;
Dick and Vance training in the pressure chamber

While studying in Houston

testing of active-passive docking units;
Thomas Stafford on a Soviet simulator

verification of machinery and equipment to ensure the transition of astronauts from ship to ship;
During training at the Soviet space center

accumulation of experience in conducting joint flights of spacecraft of the USSR and the USA.
From left to right: astronauts Donald Slayton K., D. Vance Brand and Thomas P. Stafford, cosmonauts Valery Kubasov and Alexei Leonov

Press conference

Nixon acquaints himself with the Apollo command module device after briefing

In addition, the program included studying the possibility of controlling the orientation of docked ships, checking intership communication and coordinating the actions of the Soviet and American mission control centers.
Crews

American:
Thomas Stafford - commander, 4th flight;

Vance Brand - Command Module Pilot, 1st flight;

Donald Slayton - Docking Module Pilot, 1st flight;

Soviet:
Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov, Soyuz-19 crew

Alexey Leonov - commander, 2nd flight;
Valery Kubasov - flight engineer, 2nd flight.

Chronology of events
On July 15, 1975, at 15:20, Soyuz-19 was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome;

At 10:50 p.m., Apollo was launched from the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome (using a Saturn-1B launch vehicle);
Launch vehicle "Saturn-1B" on the launcher

The crew of the Apollo poses near the Saturn-1B on the site the day before the launch

The day before the start

Before the start

Start

On July 17, at 19:12, the Soyuz and Apollo docked;
Apollo comes in for docking

historical handshake

On July 19, the ships were undocked, after which, after two turns of the Soyuz, the ships were re-docked, after another two turns the ships finally undocked.
During a joint flight

Atmosphere on ships
In the Apollo, people breathed pure oxygen under reduced pressure (≈0.35 atmospheric pressure), while on the Soyuz, an atmosphere similar to that of Earth in composition and pressure was maintained. For this reason, a direct transition from ship to ship is impossible. To solve this problem, a transitional airlock compartment was specially developed and launched together with the Apollo. To create the transition compartment, developments on the lunar module were used, in particular, the same docking port was used to connect to the ship. Slayton's role was referred to as "transition bay pilot". Also, the atmospheric pressure in the Apollo was slightly raised, and in the Soyuz it was reduced to 530 mm Hg. Art., increasing the oxygen content to 40%. As a result, the duration of the desaturation process during locking was reduced from 8 hours to 30 minutes.
President Gerald Ford speaks live to American crew members

Flight time:
"Soyuz-19" - 5 days 22 hours 31 minutes;
"Apollo" - 9 days 1 hour 28 minutes;
Mission Control Center during a joint Soviet-American expedition

The total flight time in docked condition is 46 hours 36 minutes.
Landing of the Apollo

The Apollo command module descends onto the deck of the USS New Orleans after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, west of the Hawaiian Islands.

Memory

By the day of the docking of spacecraft, the Novaya Zarya factory and the Revlon enterprise (Bronx) produced one batch of Epas perfumes (Experimental Flight Apollo - Soyuz), each with a volume of 100 thousand bottles. The packaging of the perfume was American, the contents of the bottle were Russian, with some French ingredients. Both parties were instantly sold out.
Watches "Omega" released for this event

In the Soviet Union in 1975, Soyuz-Apollo cigarettes were produced jointly with the United States, which were very popular due to the high quality of tobacco and were on sale for several years.
Model of Soyuz-19 in Star City

Patch on the spacesuits of the expedition members

Without a signature

Joint flight of spaceships of the two countries - the Soviet Soyuz-19 and the American Apollo. The Soviet Soyuz-19 spacecraft with cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and the Saturn 1-B rocket with the Apollo spacecraft and American astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald Slayton took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

For two days, the ships maneuvered to take up a docking position, preparing for an unprecedented international space mission. On July 17, at an altitude of 140 miles above the Atlantic, the ships docked. Leonov greeted Stafford in the lock. "Hello, good to see you," Stafford replied in Russian. Then the men embraced. The crews exchanged souvenirs. For viewers of the world, Russian and American space explorers conducted tours of their ships. They treated each other with traditional dishes of the two powers. At the same time, the cosmonauts improved the docking procedure and carried out scientific experiments.

The spacecraft crews spent two days together. The program ended successfully: Soyuz parachuted onto solid ground in Soyuz on July 21, and Apollo splashed down near Hawaii on July 25, 1975.

Space manned program "Soyuz-Apollo"

On October 26-27, 1970, the first meeting of Soviet and American experts on the problems of compatibility of means of rendezvous and docking of manned spacecraft and stations took place in Moscow. Working groups were formed on it to develop and agree on technical requirements to ensure the compatibility of ships.

In 1971, a number of meetings were held at which technical requirements for spacecraft systems were considered, fundamental technical solutions and basic provisions for ensuring the compatibility of technical means were agreed. The possibility of conducting manned flights in the mid-1970s on existing spacecraft was also considered to test the rendezvous and docking facilities being created.

Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev, on behalf of the Soviet Union, supported the idea of a joint flight, expressing the main concept: we are for the peaceful exploration of outer space, for the creation of devices that ensure the rendezvous and docking of ships and the joint work of crews. The Apollo-Soyuz project was not only scientific, but also propaganda. The USSR and the USA wanted to show humanity with a handshake in space - "we are people of good will", everything will be fine.

On May 24, 1972, in the Soviet capital, Alexei Kosygin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and American President Richard Nixon signed the "Agreement between the USSR and the USA on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes." The agreement provided for manned flights of Soviet and American spacecraft in 1975 with docking and mutual transfer of cosmonauts.

The main objectives of the program were: testing elements of a compatible rendezvous system in orbit; testing of the docking device; verification of machinery and equipment to ensure the transfer of people from one ship to another; creation of a promising universal life-saving equipment; accumulation of experience in conducting joint flights of spacecraft of the USSR and the USA. In addition, they planned to study the attitude control of docked ships, ship communications, coordination of the actions of the Soviet and American mission control centers, as well as the possibility of rescue operations in space.

Corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences Konstantin Bushuev was appointed technical director of the Soyuz-Apollo experimental project (ASTP) from the USSR side, and Glynn Lunni from the US side. The pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR Alexei Eliseev and Peter Frank were appointed flight directors.

Mixed Soviet-American working groups were created to jointly develop technical solutions. Soviet and American specialists had to solve the problems associated with ensuring the compatibility of means of mutual search and rendezvous of spacecraft, their docking means, life support systems and equipment for mutual transfer from one ship to another, means of communication and flight control, etc.

Especially for the joint flight, a universal docking station was developed - petal or androgynous-peripheral. The Androgynous Peripheral Docking Assembly (APAS) will dock with the docking ring of any other APAS, since both sides are androgynous. Each such docking unit can perform both an active and a passive role, so they are completely interchangeable.

A serious problem in the docking of spacecraft was the question of the general atmosphere. The Americans designed the Apollo under an atmosphere of pure oxygen at low pressure (280 millimeters of mercury). Soviet spacecraft flew with an onboard atmosphere, which was similar in composition and pressure to the earth's. To solve this problem, an additional compartment was attached to the American spacecraft, in which, after the docking of two spacecraft, the atmospheric parameters approached the atmosphere in the Soviet spacecraft. In Soyuz, for this, the pressure was reduced to 520 millimeters of mercury. At the same time, the command module of the American ship with one cosmonaut remaining there had to be sealed. In addition, the usual suits of Soviet cosmonauts were flammable in the Apollo atmosphere due to the increased oxygen content in it. To solve this problem, in the USSR, in the shortest possible time, they created a polymer that surpassed foreign counterparts. From this polymer, a heat-resistant fabric was created for the suits of Soviet cosmonauts.

In March 1973, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the composition of the crews of the Apollo spacecraft. The prime crew included Thomas Stafford (commander), Vance Brand and Donald Slayton, while the backup crew included Alan Bean, Ronald Evans and Jack Lausma. Two months later, the Soviet crew was identified: Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov. The second crew included Anatoly Filipchenko and Nikolai Rukavishnikov, the third - Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Boris Andreev, the fourth - Yuri Romanenko and Alexander Ivanchenkov.

From left to right: Slayton, Stafford, Brand, Leonov, Kubasov

The choice of Leonov as the "face of the Soviet Union" was quite understandable. Leonov was the most experienced and famous our cosmonaut after Gagarin. He made the first spacewalk. At the same time, Leonov showed great self-control when he could not get back into the spacecraft due to the fact that the suit was swollen and did not fit into the airlock. For emergency situations, it was an ideal candidate. In addition, he was distinguished by humor, high communication skills, immediately making friends with the astronauts in joint training. As a result, Leonov was best suited for reporting from the ship and subsequent interviews on Earth.

In the USSR, six copies of the 7K-TM ships were built for the program, four of which flew under the ASTP program. Three ships made test flights: two unmanned (under the names "Cosmos-638", "Cosmos-672") in April and August 1974 and one manned flight "Soyuz-16" in December 1974. The Soyuz-16 crew included Anatoly Filipchenko (commander) and Nikolai Rukavishnikov (flight engineer). The fifth ship was prepared for a possible rescue expedition. In America, test flights and reserve ships were not produced.

The final phase of the project began on July 15, 1975. On this day, the Soyuz-19 and Apollo spacecraft were launched. The Soviet ship started at 15:20 Moscow time. On the Soyuz, after checking the onboard systems, the first of two maneuvers for the formation of the mounting orbit was carried out. Then they began to reduce pressure from the living compartments, the pressure in the ship became 520 mm Hg. Art. The launch of the Apollo was made 7.5 hours after the launch of the Soyuz - at 22:50.

On July 16, after rebuilding the compartments of the Apollo spacecraft and separating it from the second stage of the launch vehicle, it was transferred to a circular orbit with a height of 165 km. The American ship then performed the first phasing maneuver to establish the speed necessary to ensure the docking of the ships on the 36th orbit of the Soyuz. The crew of the Soviet ship carried out the first stage of repair of the onboard television system, the failure of which was discovered before launch. In the evening, the first TV report was made from the Soyuz-19. The crew performed the second maneuver to form the mounting orbit. As a result of two maneuvers, an assembly orbit was formed with the following parameters: minimum altitude - 222.65 km, maximum altitude - 225.4 km. The crew also checked the operation of the attitude control and motion control system in the mode of program turns and stabilization for the docking process.

On July 17, the Apollo spacecraft performed the second phasing maneuver, after which the parameters of its orbit became: minimum altitude - 165 km, maximum altitude - 186 km. Vance Brand reported seeing the Soyuz. The distance between the ships was about 400 km, radio communication was established between the Soyuz and the Apollo. At 16:30, the construction of orientation began before the docking of the ships. Docking (touchdown) occurred at 19:09. After checking the tightness and approaching the parameters of the atmosphere at 22:19, a symbolic handshake took place between the commanders of the ship. The meeting of Alexei Leonov, Valery Kubasov, Thomas Stafford and Donald Slayton in the Soyuz-19 took place exactly on schedule and was observed on Earth on television.

On July 18-19, the cosmonauts improved the docking procedure and carried out scientific experiments. On July 21, the descent module of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft made a soft landing near the city of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan. The Soviet crew returned safely to Earth. On July 25, the command module of the Apollo spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

Thus, during the joint flight of the Soyuz-19 and Apollo spacecraft, the main tasks of the program were completed, including rendezvous and docking of spacecraft, transfers of crew members from ship to ship, interaction between Mission Control Centers and crews, as well as joint scientific experiments. The next joint manned flight took place only 20 years later as part of the Mir-Shuttle program.

Crew suit patch

The program was approved on May 24, 1972 by the Agreement between the USSR and the USA on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

The main objectives of the program were:

testing elements of a compatible orbital rendezvous system;
testing of an active-passive docking unit;
verification of machinery and equipment to ensure the transition of astronauts from ship to ship;
accumulation of experience in conducting joint flights of spacecraft of the USSR and the USA.

In addition, the program involved studying the possibility of controlling the orientation of docked ships, checking intership communication and coordinating the actions of the Soviet and American mission control centers.

Training

External images
Technical documentation
(from official NASA materials)
	flight profile
	Docking, service and command modules

The initiator of the joint flight of American and Soviet manned spacecraft with docking in orbit was NASA. This idea was expressed by the director of NASA Thomas Paine in early 1970 during a correspondence with Mstislav Keldysh, President of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Working groups were formed to agree on the technical requirements to ensure the compatibility of the Soviet and American ships existing at that time - the Soyuz and the Apollo. On October 26-27, 1970, the first meeting of Soviet and American specialists on the problems of compatibility of means of rendezvous and docking of manned spacecraft took place in Moscow. The implementation of the project became possible after the signing on May 24, 1972 in Moscow by Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin and US President Richard Nixon "Agreements on Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes." Article number 3 of the agreement provided for an experimental flight of the ships of the two countries with docking and mutual transfer of astronauts in 1975.

For the ASTP program, both sides developed special modifications of the spacecraft of the Soyuz and Apollo series. While the Soyuz-series ship underwent outwardly minor changes (with the exception of the fact that it became a two-seater, solar panels appeared, its carrying capacity and propulsion systems changed), it was equipped with an APAS-75 androgynous peripheral docking station participating in the docking. And the remaining unchanged Apollo spacecraft of the near-Earth version (without the lunar module) was supplemented with a special docking and airlock transitional compartment, which in turn contained a docking port designed and manufactured in the USSR. Similar compartments were used in all subsequent joint programs.

The Soviet side manufactured six copies of the 7K-TM ships for the program, of which four flew under the ASTP program. Three ships made test flights: two unmanned under the names " Cosmos-638», « Cosmos-672 in April and August 1974 and one Soyuz-16 manned flight in December 1974. The fifth copy was prepared for an immediate launch if a rescue expedition was needed during the days of the joint flight and was installed together with the launch vehicle at the launch site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and was later dismantled into components for the next ships of the series. The sixth instance was later equipped with a powerful multispectral Earth remote sensing camera and made in September 1976 the last Soyuz-22 manned flight for the ships of the series without docking with the orbital station.

The American side did not perform rehearsal flights and reserve ships under the program. At this time, from May 1973 to February 1974, she made three manned flights under the Skylab program.

Soviet and American crews underwent joint training on spacecraft simulators at the Cosmonaut Training Center. Yu. A. Gagarin (USSR) and at the Space Center. L. Johnson (USA) .

Solving technical problems

External images
	Group photo of participants in the ASTP program

Mixed Soviet-American working groups were created to jointly develop technical solutions. Soviet and American scientists and designers faced the need to solve a complex of problems related to ensuring the compatibility of means of mutual search and rendezvous of spacecraft, their docking units, LSS and equipment for mutual transfer from one ship to another, means of communication and flight control, organizational and methodological compatibility .

Atmosphere on ships and transition compartment

The life support systems (LSS) of the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft were incompatible, primarily because of the difference in the atmosphere. In the Apollo, people breathed pure oxygen under reduced pressure (≈0.35 atmospheric pressure), while on the Soyuz, an atmosphere similar to that of the earth in composition and pressure was maintained. Air circulation and air conditioning systems were built on different principles. Communication between the atmospheres of the ships would lead to a breakdown in the automatic regulation of these systems. Direct transfer from ship to ship was impossible for these reasons. Simple locking could not be used due to decompression sickness during the transition from the Soyuz to the Apollo.

To ensure the compatibility of the LSS and the means of transition, a special docking and airlock transition compartment was created, which was launched into orbit along with the Apollo and allowed cosmonauts and astronauts to move from ship to ship. The transition compartment was a cylinder more than 3 meters long, with a maximum diameter of 1.4 meters and a mass of 2 tons. To create the transition compartment, developments on the lunar module were used, in particular, the same docking port was used to connect to the ship. After entering the orbit, Apollo, just as it “picked up” the lunar module in lunar flights, turned 180 degrees and docked with the transfer compartment, “picking up” it from the second stage of the “Saturn”, but in the process of docking and undocking with “ Soyuz" this node was not used.

During the transfer of crews from ship to ship, an atmosphere was created in the transition compartment that corresponded to the atmosphere of the ship into which the transition was made. To reduce the difference in atmospheres, the pressure in the Apollo was slightly raised - up to 258 mm Hg. Art. , and in the "Union" was reduced to 520 mm Hg. Art. , increasing the oxygen content to 40%. As a result, the duration of the desaturation process during locking was reduced from eight hours to three, during which the astronauts' stay in the transfer compartment made it possible to avoid decompression and perform sufficient desaturation. Slayton's role was referred to as "transition bay pilot".

Ordinary suits of Soviet cosmonauts became flammable in the Apollo atmosphere due to the increased oxygen content in it. To solve the problem in the Soviet Union, a heat-resistant polymer was developed in the shortest possible time, which surpassed foreign analogues described in the literature (oxygen index was 79, and for fibers produced by DuPont - 41). From this polymer, the heat-resistant Lola fabric was created for the suits of Soviet cosmonauts. The initial monomers for obtaining a heat-resistant polymer were synthesized with the active participation and guidance of the famous Soviet chemist E. P. Fokin.

Docking units

The compatibility of docking units required the consistency of their concept, the geometric dimensions of the mating elements, the loads acting on them, the unification of the design of power locks, sealing devices. The regular docking units, which were equipped with the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft, made according to the asymmetric paired active-passive "pin-cone" scheme, did not meet these requirements. Therefore, for docking on ships, a new APAS-75 unit specially developed at the Energia Design Bureau was installed.

This development is one of the few created within the framework of the ASTP project, the basic elements of which are still in use. Modern modifications of APAS, produced in Russia, allow docking to Russian docking nodes (both active and passive) spacecraft of other countries, as well as docking these ships with ISS modules, provided that they have two such compatible units.

Crews

Chronology of joint flight

Start

On July 15, 1975, at 15:20, Soyuz-19 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome;
At 22:50, Apollo was launched from the Cape Canaveral spaceport (using the Saturn-1B launch vehicle)

Maneuvers in orbit

On July 17, at 19:12, the Soyuz-19 and Apollo were docked (the 36th orbit of the Soyuz);

External video files
	Docking and handshake

The docking of the ships took place two days after the launch. Active maneuvering was carried out by Apollo, the speed of approach of the spacecraft upon contact with the Soyuz was approximately 0.25 m/s. Three hours later, after the opening of the hatches of the Soyuz and Apollo, a symbolic handshake took place between the commanders of the ships Alexei Leonov and Thomas Stafford. Stafford and Donald Slayton then made the transition to the Soviet ship. During the flight of the ships in the docked state, four transitions of crew members between the ships were carried out. .

On July 19, the ships were undocked (the 64th circuit of the Soyuz), after which, after two turns, the ships were re-docked (the 66th circuit of the Soyuz), after another two turns, the ships finally undocked (the 68th circuit). Union").

Flight time

Soyuz-19 - 5 days 22 hours 31 minutes;
Apollo - 9 days 1 hour 28 minutes;
The total flight time in the docked state is 46 hours 36 minutes.

Landing

Soyuz-19 - July 21, 1975
"Apollo" - July 24, 1975

Experiments

During the joint flight, several scientific and technical experiments were carried out:

Artificial solar eclipse - study from Soyuz

TASS-DOSIER /Inna Klimacheva/. The initiator of the joint flight of American and Soviet manned spacecraft with docking in orbit was the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, NASA). This idea was expressed by NASA director Thomas Paine in early 1970 during a correspondence with Mstislav Keldysh, president of the USSR Academy of Sciences (AN). In October of the same year, the first meeting of specialists from the USSR and the USA took place in Moscow. Working groups were formed to agree on the technical requirements for ensuring the compatibility of the Soviet and American spacecraft existing at that time - Soyuz and Apollo ("Apollo").

The implementation of the project became possible after the signing on May 24, 1972 in Moscow by Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin and US President Richard Nixon of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes. Article number 3 of the agreement provided for an experimental flight of the ships of the two countries with docking and mutual transfer of astronauts in 1975.

The program was called ASTP ("Experimental flight "Apollo" - "Soyuz"; another name is "Soyuz" - "Apollo"). Corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Konstantin Bushuev was appointed technical director from the Soviet side, and Dr. Glen Lanny from the American side. The flight directors are Alexey Eliseev (from the USSR) and Peter Frank (from the USA).

Countries have created special modifications of ships. The Soyuz was converted from a three-seat spacecraft into a two-seat one and equipped with an APAS docking station developed by Vladimir Syromyatnikov, designer of the Central Design Bureau of Experimental Engineering (now the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation named after S.P. Korolev). A new modification of the ship (7K-TM or Soyuz-M) passed flight design tests in two unmanned flights in April and August 1974 and one manned flight in December 1974 (the ship was named Soyuz-16; crew - Anatoly Filipchenko and Nikolai Rukavishnikov). The Apollo was supplemented with a docking and airlock transition compartment with a Soviet-made docking station. The docking module (length - more than 3 meters, maximum diameter - 1.4 meters, weight - 2 tons) was necessary to combine the life support systems of ships with different atmospheres. The Apollo astronauts breathed pure oxygen under reduced pressure (approximately 0.35 atmospheric pressure), while the Soyuz maintained an atmosphere similar in composition and pressure to Earth. In addition, the suits of Soviet cosmonauts had to be replaced, which became flammable in the atmosphere of an American ship. They were sewn from a special Lola fabric, for which a heat-resistant polymer was developed in the USSR in the shortest possible time.

The crew lines were announced in 1973. The prime crew for Apollo 18 included Thomas Stafford (commander), Vance Brand (command module pilot) and Donald Slayton (docking module pilot); there were also two spare crews. The main crew of the Soyuz-19 is Alexei Leonov (commander) and Valery Kubasov (flight engineer). In addition, three backup crews were provided, and a spare ship (Soyuz-22) was also being prepared.

The ASTP joint flight began on July 15, 1975. Soyuz-19 was the first to launch from Baikonur, after 7.5 hours - from the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral Apollo 18.

The docking of the ships took place two days later - on July 17. Active maneuvering was carried out by Apollo, the speed of approach of the ship during contact with the Soyuz was approximately 0.25 m/s. Three hours after the opening of the Soyuz and Apollo hatches, a symbolic handshake took place between the spacecraft commanders Alexei Leonov and Thomas Stafford. Then Stafford and Donald Slayton made the transition to the Soviet ship, where the flags of the USSR and the USA were exchanged and the UN flag was handed over to the Americans, the certificate of the International Aviation Federation (FAI; FAI) was signed on the first docking of two spacecraft of different countries in orbit.

The ships were docked until July 19 - 43 hours 54 minutes 11 seconds. After undocking, Apollo retired from the Soyuz at a distance of 220 meters to conduct the "Artificial Solar Eclipse" experiment: the American spacecraft covered the Sun with itself, and the crew of the Soviet spacecraft took photographs. On the same day, the second (test) docking was carried out, during which the Soyuz was the active spacecraft - the ships were in conjunction for 2 hours 52 minutes 33 seconds. This operation completed the joint flight of the two ships.

Soviet cosmonauts returned to Earth on July 21: the Soyuz-19 descent vehicle made a soft landing near the city of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan (total flight time - 5 days 22 hours 31 minutes). The Apollo command module with astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, after conducting experiments under the American program in independent flight (9 days 1 hour 28 minutes).

During the experimental flight of the Soyuz and Apollo, rendezvous and docking of spacecraft were practiced, mutual transitions of crew members from ship to ship were performed (four transitions in total), joint scientific experiments were carried out, interaction between the crews and Mission Control Centers of the USSR and the USA was carried out. This was the first experience of joint space activities of representatives of different countries, which marked the beginning of international cooperation in space - such projects as Interkosmos, Mir - NASA, Mir - Shuttle, International Space Station.

At present, out of five participants in the Soviet-American flight, three survived - Alexei Leonov, Thomas Stafford and Vance Brand. Donald Slayton died in 1993, Valery Kubasov - in 2014.