On July 15, 1975, at two different positions in the US and the Soviet Union, two Apollo 18 and Soyuz spacecraft were launched into space to prepare for a unique "connection" in orbit.
Image of the project "connecting" two Soviet-American ships:
On July 15, 1975, Soyuz 19 left the launch pad at 15:20 (Moscow time) at the Baikonur space center. The flight marks the start of the Apollo - Soyuz pilot project.
On the same day, Apollo 18 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The Soviet crew consisted of two members Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov. The American Apollo 18 side consists of three members: Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald "Deke" Slayton.
The operating center flies outside the Moscow capital in the Apollo - Soyuz project.
On July 17, 1975, Soyuz 19 and Apollo 18 ships connected. Three hours after a successful connection, Leonov shook hands with Stafford and said "Glad to see you". Stafford responded with a Russian sentence "Privyet, rad tebya vidyet" (hello, glad to see you). Then the two hugged each other tightly.
The process of cooperation between the Soviet Union and the United States began when the Soviet Union launched its first satellite. In 1962, the Soviet Academy of Sciences and NASA signed the first cooperation agreement in the field of space exploration for civilian purposes, resulting in the two sides sharing their views and experiments in the universe. Photo: Apollo 18 Commander Thomas Stafford and Soyuz 19 commander Alexei Leonov after training to prepare the Apollo - Soyuz test project.
Soyuz 19 is in orbit, photographed by Apollo 18 crew.
The main objectives of the Apollo - Soyuz pilot project are to improve the technical system, how to handle common tasks, conduct general scientific experiments and rescue on orbit. In the photo: Soviet astronaut Alexei Leonov (middle), two American astronauts Thomas Stafford (left) and Donald "Deke" Slayton (right) when the two ships are connected.
Testing the mechanism of connecting two Apollo - Soyuz ships at the space research institute of the Soviet Academy of Science and Technology.
The Soviet Union upgraded the Soyuz launcher and developed the variant Soyuz 7K - TM cargo ship for the Apollo - Soyuz project. In the photo: test equipment operation connecting two ships at the space research institute.
Check the module that connects the two ships.
Test module connecting two Apollo - Soyuz ships.
Astronaut Alexei Leonov and Thomas Stafford answer questions from reporters during a press conference in space.
Two halves of the badge were put together after Apollo 18 and Soyuz 19 successfully connected in orbit.
Apollo 18 spacecraft.
The crew of Apollo 18 and Soyuz 19
The crew of both ships returned to Earth safely. Soyuz 19 landed on July 21, 1975 and Apollo 18 on July 25. In the photo: astronaut Alexei Leonov signs on the landing compartment.
Source: RIA Novosti
