Apollo and Soyuz Dock for Their Joint Space Mission

Thomas Stafford and Alexei Leonov shook hands through an open hatch on 17 July 1975, after their Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft docked in orbit. The meeting grew out of détente, the easing of tensions between the rival powers. American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts could now pass from one vehicle into the other. [1]

To make that possible, engineers had to connect spacecraft with different cabin pressures. A docking module served as an airlock: Stafford and Deke Slayton entered it, closed the hatches behind them, and raised its pressure to match Soyuz before opening the way to Leonov and Valeri Kubasov. [1]

During two days of joint operations, the crews shared meals, held press conferences, and carried out experiments, and President Gerald Ford called from the White House to congratulate them. The experience of coordinating equipment, procedures, and crews later helped Americans and Russians cooperate on longer missions. [1]

NASA credits the project's technical procedures and personal contacts with helping subsequent Shuttle–Mir and International Space Station cooperation. [1]

Related Diplomats

1. Anatoly Dobrynin [2] [3] [4]

Related Reading

• Russia and the United States