Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🚀 On July 15, 1975 the historic Soviet-American Apollo–Soyuz Test Project was launched.
For the first time in the history of space exploration, crews representing two different nations performed a joint spaceflight, with cosmonauts and astronauts meeting and two spacecraft docking while orbiting Earth.
🤝 The legendary handshake in space between Soyuz and Apollo captains, Alexei Leonov and Thomas Stafford, was broadcast live globally and became a symbol of détente between the two superpowers.
The main goals of the Soyuz-Apollo programme included creating an advanced universal rescue vehicle, testing technical systems and methods for joint spaceflight control, and conducing scientific research and experiments.
While Soyuz and Apollo were docked for a total of 46 hours 54 minutes, the two crews’ members made several transfers between their respective spacecraft, conducted tours, made numerous TV reports, captured video footage and photographs, and staged a joint press conference.
🛰️ The Soyuz-Apollo mission ushered in a new era of international cooperation in outer space, which would become essential for implementation of the ISS project.
🤝 Following this historic flight, its participants kept in touch with each other for a long time and met on a regular basis. Tom Stafford and Alexei Leonov became close friends and maintained their friendship throughout their lives.
#ApolloSoyuz #RussiaUSA
For the first time in the history of space exploration, crews representing two different nations performed a joint spaceflight, with cosmonauts and astronauts meeting and two spacecraft docking while orbiting Earth.
🤝 The legendary handshake in space between Soyuz and Apollo captains, Alexei Leonov and Thomas Stafford, was broadcast live globally and became a symbol of détente between the two superpowers.
The main goals of the Soyuz-Apollo programme included creating an advanced universal rescue vehicle, testing technical systems and methods for joint spaceflight control, and conducing scientific research and experiments.
While Soyuz and Apollo were docked for a total of 46 hours 54 minutes, the two crews’ members made several transfers between their respective spacecraft, conducted tours, made numerous TV reports, captured video footage and photographs, and staged a joint press conference.
🛰️ The Soyuz-Apollo mission ushered in a new era of international cooperation in outer space, which would become essential for implementation of the ISS project.
🤝 Following this historic flight, its participants kept in touch with each other for a long time and met on a regular basis. Tom Stafford and Alexei Leonov became close friends and maintained their friendship throughout their lives.
#ApolloSoyuz #RussiaUSA