Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

Joint Human Space Endeavor

A Research Essay
In FulIillment oI Homework Assignment Three


Submitted to ProIessor: Dr. Patrick J. Ford


By
Marion Buehring

October 15, 2010

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was a mission which tested the docking oI two dissimilar
spacecraIt. The mission was the Iinal Ilight oI the Apollo Series; this ended the era oI using expendable
people-carrying launch vehicles. Also, the crews oI the Apollo and Soyuz spacecraIts conducted various
scientiIic experiments while in orbit. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project set the stage Ior Iuture multi-nation
missions and the sharing oI scientiIic data.
President John F. Kennedy had suggested cooperation and joint space missions in 1963. (NHD)
In the midst oI the 'Space Race the United States and the Soviet Union were rivals; however, they did
cooperate in the sharing oI scientiIic data Irom their space missions. In 1967 and 1968 the two countries
signed space treaties which included agreements to rescue stranded astronauts and/or cosmonauts and
return them to their home country. In April oI 1970, during the Apollo 13 mission, the Soviet Union
oIIered assistance to the crew under the rescue treaty. (NHD) The problem with that oIIer was that the
Soviet Union and the United States use diIIerently designed spacecraIt which have diIIerent atmospheres
inside. On October 24
th
, 1970, an American delegation met with Soviet oIIicials in Moscow and began
talks oI a joint United States (US)-United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) human mission. Thus began
the steps toward the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the Iirst international manned space Ilight. (KSC)
By the mid-1970`s both the US and the USSR had placed space stations: the Russian Salyut and
the American Skylab. (NASA) The prospect oI a rescue oI Ioreign space travelers became more relevant.
AIter Iive years oI preIlight delegations, training and planning, the ASTP was launched and a nine day,
seven hour, and 28 minute joint US-USSR mission took place Irom the 15
th
to 24
th
oI July, 1975. (NASA
Apollo history)
The primary mission oI the Apollo-Soyuz, or C-A (Soyuz-Apollo) as reIerred to by the
Soviets, was to demonstrate and evaluate the docking and undocking oI an Apollo spacecraIt with a
Soyuz in orbit. However, the crews also tested the ability oI astronauts and cosmonauts to make inter-
vehicular crew transIers and the capability oI the spacecraIt systems to support the transIers. (NASA
Apollo History) In preparation oI ASTP engineering teams Irom both countries had collaborated in the
design and development oI the docking module to link the spacecraIt. Also, making this a truly joint
endeavor, control centers in Houston and in Moscow shared duties in tracking the spacecraIts and
communications. (NASM)
On July 15
th
, 1975, the Soviet Soyuz liIted oII Irom the Baikonur Cosmodrome in present day
Kazakhstan, and seven hours later a US Saturn IB rocket launched Irom Kennedy Space Center in Florida
and carried the Apollo into orbit. Two days later the two capsules rendez-vous`d and connected in orbit.
This was done with the specially designed docking adapter which was launched along with the US
spacecraIt. (collectspace.com news) The docking module was carried into orbit in the same way the
Apollo had carried the lunar landing module. (Christy)
The docking module was a three meter long cylinder with a diameter oI 1.5 meters. It was
designed to mechanically connect the Soyuz to the Apollo, but it also served as an airlock module
between the two atmospheres. (NASA Apollo History) The Soyuz contained a mixed atmosphere oI 80
nitrogen and 20 oxygen at 14.7 psi, and the Apollo had a pure oxygen environment at one third
atmospheric pressure oI 5 psi. (CSC) The diIIerently composed atmospheres oI the spacecraIts could
have presented problems in both spacecraIts, but the crews oI Apollo and Soyuz conducted docking,
undocking, re-docking, and transIer oI personnel successIully. The crews` activities were televised across
both countries amid Cold War tensions. StaIIord, Apollo Commander, presented Leonev oI the Soyuz
with US Ilags, and Leonev presented the US crew with Soviet Ilags and plaques. The two crews signed
international certiIicates and exchanged commemorative items including medallions and tree seeds.
(collectspace.com news) They enjoyed almost Iour hours oI joint activities including a meal aboard the
Soyuz. (NASA Apollo History)
The ASTP achieved a great deal oI success in obtaining Ilight experience and data collection Ior
rendez-vous and docking oI manned spacecraIt and developed a system which would be used as a
standard international system. (Virtual Science Center) The mission also included a series oI scientiIic
experiments; there were 28 investigations in the Iields oI Earth resources, Earth gravity, Earth atmosphere,
astronomy, solar science, liIe sciences, and space processing were conducted during the joint mission.
(Virtual Science Center)
During the transIer oI the crews` cosmonauts and astronauts an intentional transIer oI
microorganisms was conducted. The joint US-USSR microbial exchange was a way to understand the
balance between the immune system and inIectious microorganisms in the space environment. The level
oI cross-contamination was examined with pre-Ilight and post-Ilight blood samples which were taken to
examine the response oI cellular immune Iunction. (Virtual Science Center) This experiment on the
immune system was one oI seven liIe sciences experiments conducted during ASTP. Another involved
observing the swimming behavior oI killiIish. KilliIish were Iilmed throughout the mission to show how
microgravity aIIected Iish hatchlings` development and determine the Iunction oI the vestibular system
and Iish orientation. The eIIects oI cosmic particles on living cells were examined. Also a joint
experiment was conducted to observe real-time mutations caused by HZE (highly charged and energetic)
particle exposure that might occur in a ring oI growing Iungal cells. (Virtual Science Center)
A signiIicant experiment conducted between two oI the dockings during the ASTP mission took
place aIter the two ships had been docked Ior nearly 44 hours. The Apollo crew placed its spacecraIt
between the Soyuz and the sun so that the diameter oI the service module Iormed a disk which blocked
out the sun. This was the Iirst artiIicial solar eclipse created in orbit. The Soyuz crew was able to take
pictures oI the solar corona. (astronautix)
There were Iive astronomy and Iive Earth studies investigations conducted on the Apollo-Soyuz
mission. Astronomy experiments ranged Irom soIt x-ray observations, Iocusing on objects deep in the
galaxy, to crystal activation experiments Ior the application oI crystal detectors in gamma-ray astronomy.
The ASTP crew marked the birth oI new branch oI astronomy when they discovered extreme ultraviolet
sources outside the solar system. (NASA Apollo History) Earth studies included ultraviolet absorption
experiment which investigated the atomic composition oI the upper atmosphere. Earth photography was
conducted to examine the surIace oI the Earth land and water regions. (Virtual Science Center)
On July 21
st
, 1975, Soyuz 19 landed saIely in Kazakhstan. Apollo remained in orbit to conduct
23 independent experiments which included Doppler tracking and geodynamics experiments Ior studying
plate tectonics. (astronautix) Apollo splashed down near Hawaii July 24
th
; it had suIIered a switch Iailure
which allowed a toxic leak oI un-ignited propellants and oxidizers into the cabin. (astronautix) This was
the only problem in an otherwise 'perIectly conducted mission. According to Leonev, Soyuz-Apollo
was the Iirst Russian mission to be called perIect by the Soviets. (collectspace.com news)
At a 35
th
anniversary gathering oI the Apollo and Soyuz crews, StaIIord remarked "It was shown
as a symbol to the rest oI the world that two great superpowers with diIIerent languages, diIIerent units oI
measurement, and certainly diIIerent political systems could have a common goal they could work
together to achieve. It was really the highpoint oI the opening oI the Iron Curtain and a great goodwill in
the middle oI the Cold War." (collectspace.com news) The signiIicance oI the Iirst international human
spaceIlight cannot be understated. Although the US and USSR were competitors in the space race which
had begun two decades earlier, the joint crew operations and experiments began an international space
eIIort which continues today with the International Space Station.

70 The entire ASTP crew included American astronauts Thomas StaIIord
(standing, leIt); Donald K. 'Deke Slayton (seated, leIt) and Vance D. Brand
(seated, center) and Russian cosmonauts Aleksey A. Leonov (standing, right) and
Valeriy N. Kubasov (seated, right)
Bibliography
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October 14, 2010)
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