Apollo-Soyuz Launch & Docking

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the first joint flight of the U.S. and Soviet space programs. The mission took place in July 1975. For the United States of America, it was the last Apollo flight, as well as the last manned space launch until the flight of the first Space Shuttle in April 1981. For the Soviet Union it was the last manned space flight until Soyuz 21 in June 1976.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• nasa
• soviet
• ASTP
• docking
• orbit

[bombarderoazul]

although the soyuz is smaller it actually has more room and living space than the apollo, thanks to the orbital module in front of the descent module, also soyuz has a toilet, compared to a vacuum hose and a plastic bag that was used in apollo. Even the soyuz instruments appeared quite sophisticated, it had a digital computer, I am sure the americans were expecting an inferior spacecraft, they were surprised!

[LannomFilm]

The Soyuz is a nice spacecraft I'll have to admit.

[jyhammy]

@bombarderoazul Plastic Bag and Tube-The only thing you need(US) Toilet and Clean butts not tubes!(USSR)

[baillou2]

@melindastrassekonig The shuttle's exhaust is 97% water vapor just so you know....

[melindastrassekonig]

@LannomFilm I always loved the Soyuz and however it does not throw too much pollution like the Shuttle, in my opinion Apollo and the Shuttle are great but Soyuz always remains my favorite.

[solarpanels3]

no toilets in apollo!!!! smells like shit..........why did the russians open the docking

doors???

[DumbYankies]

@bombarderoazul .... and the Soyuz launcher cannot launch a soyuz + a docking adaptor. The saturn 1B could (just). Basically it could take about 3-5 tons of baggage in the SLA into orbit. Soyuz doesnt have that spare capacity.

[DumbYankies]

@bombarderoazul ah but there is a difference. Soyuz has orbital module bolted to top of reentry. In Apollo it was essentially BEHIND you, stored in the SLA. You had to extract it on orbit. And the module could be anything you wanted. For this it was the docking adaptor. For the lunar missions it was the LEM. If they had continued with apollo rather than the shuttle im sure other different loads would have followed. Lot more flexible than soyuz acutally

[dan1986ist]

one of my great-uncles worked for NASA is Madagascar during this mission.

[jpg50]

they fit together because Apollo was launched with a docking adapter specifically made to be compatible with the Russian docking system. Both US and Russian docking system had male and female ends, and both Apollo and Soyuz had male docking probes.

[Boy75402]

Or... you can just give the Soviets blueprints to the docking mechanism and let them build one...

Shouldn't take a decade.