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Soyuz Spacecraft in Orbit Main Content
NASA Center: Johnson Space Center
Image # : 75-HC-492
Date : 07/1975

Title

Soyuz Spacecraft in Orbit

Full Description

This scene was photographed with a handheld 70mm camera from a rendezvous window of the American Apollo spacecraft in Earth orbit during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission. It shows the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft contrasted against a black-sky background with the Earth's horizon below. The three major components of the Soyuz are the spherical-shaped Orbital Module, the bell-shaped Descent Vehicle and the cylindrical-shaped Instrument Assembly Module. The docking system on the Orbital Module was specially designed to interface with the docking system on the Apollo's Docking Module. ASTP was a cooperative space mission between the United States and the USSR. The goals of ASTP were to test the ability of American and Soviet spacecraft to rendezvous and dock in space and to open the doors to possible international rescue missions and future collaboration on manned spaceflights. The Soyuz and Apollo crafts launched from Baikonur and the Kennedy Space Center respectively, on July 15, 1975. The two spacecraft successfully completed the rendezvous and docking on July 17th. While the Soyuz craft returned to Earth on July 21st, the Apollo craft stayed in space another 3 days, landing on July 24th in the Pacific Ocean. ASTP was a success, as not only did crews accomplish the rendezvous and docking, but they also performed in-flight intervehicular crew transfers and various scientific experiments. ASTP proved to be significant step toward improving international cooperation in space during the Cold War.

Keywords

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project ASTP Orbital Module Descent Vehicle Instrument Assembly Module Docking Module

Subject Category

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

Reference Numbers

  • Center: JSC
  • Center Number: 75-HC-492
  • GRIN DataBase Number: GPN-2002-000155

Source Information

  • Creator/Photographer: NASA
  • Original Source: DIGITAL

Image Information ( Copyright Notification )

ResolutionFormatWidth
(Pixels)		Height
(Pixels)		Size
(KBytes)
Thumbnail JPEG 66 63 8
Small JPEG 467 446 211
Medium JPEG 1095 1046 1,100
Large JPEG 2190 2091 4,851

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