Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Handshake In Space, 45 Years Ago...
Last edited Sun Jul 19, 2020, 12:29 PM - Edit history (1)
https://www.airspacemag.com/space/apollo-soyuz-cold-war-thawed-little-180975321/The history of Russia-U.S. interaction in space has quite a few bright pages. And top honors go to the Apollo–Soyuz experimental flight that took place 45 years ago, from July 15 to 21, 1975.
After the initiative was approved at the highest levels of government, the two sides got down to business. An important task was to select crews for the in-space meet-up. Soyuz 19 flew with cosmonauts Alexei A. Leonov and Valeri N. Kubasov on board. The Apollo crew was made up of astronauts Thomas S. Stafford, Vance D. Brand and Donald K. Slayton.
Both spacecraft were successfully launched on July 15, 1975. The historic docking happened two days later, on the evening of July 17. Interesting fact: hatches between the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft were opened when the ships were passing over the Elbe River in Germany, which had been the site of a famous meeting between Soviet and American troops in April 1945, when the two countries were fighting together against Nazi Germany. Leonov later noted, “Our fathers met on the Elbe in 1945, and their sons met over the Elbe in 1975. That was some kind of providence.”
The Apollo–Soyuz mission showed that different political systems were not an obstacle for establishing strong, friendly ties between people. The story of Leonov and Stafford is a vivid example. The commanders continued to communicate closely for many years after their flight. They regularly exchanged phone calls and met in Russia and the United States. “My home is Tom Stafford’s home,” said the famous cosmonaut. In turn, one of Stafford’s grandsons was named Alexei.
Unfortunately, as time goes by, fewer heroes of that flight are still with us. Deke Slayton passed away in 1993, Valeri Kubasov in 2014, and Leonov just last October. But their achievement remains in the memory of humankind. It paved the way for cooperation on today’s International Space Station, and Russian and U.S. leaders have reaffirmed many times their commitment to continued collaboration in this sphere, emphasizing its mutually beneficial nature.
This mission was the first step in cooperation between Moscow and Washington to explore the boundless reaches of outer space. More importantly, it helped establish an atmosphere of true partnership between the two space superpowers, which persists today.
After the initiative was approved at the highest levels of government, the two sides got down to business. An important task was to select crews for the in-space meet-up. Soyuz 19 flew with cosmonauts Alexei A. Leonov and Valeri N. Kubasov on board. The Apollo crew was made up of astronauts Thomas S. Stafford, Vance D. Brand and Donald K. Slayton.
Both spacecraft were successfully launched on July 15, 1975. The historic docking happened two days later, on the evening of July 17. Interesting fact: hatches between the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft were opened when the ships were passing over the Elbe River in Germany, which had been the site of a famous meeting between Soviet and American troops in April 1945, when the two countries were fighting together against Nazi Germany. Leonov later noted, “Our fathers met on the Elbe in 1945, and their sons met over the Elbe in 1975. That was some kind of providence.”
The Apollo–Soyuz mission showed that different political systems were not an obstacle for establishing strong, friendly ties between people. The story of Leonov and Stafford is a vivid example. The commanders continued to communicate closely for many years after their flight. They regularly exchanged phone calls and met in Russia and the United States. “My home is Tom Stafford’s home,” said the famous cosmonaut. In turn, one of Stafford’s grandsons was named Alexei.
Unfortunately, as time goes by, fewer heroes of that flight are still with us. Deke Slayton passed away in 1993, Valeri Kubasov in 2014, and Leonov just last October. But their achievement remains in the memory of humankind. It paved the way for cooperation on today’s International Space Station, and Russian and U.S. leaders have reaffirmed many times their commitment to continued collaboration in this sphere, emphasizing its mutually beneficial nature.
This mission was the first step in cooperation between Moscow and Washington to explore the boundless reaches of outer space. More importantly, it helped establish an atmosphere of true partnership between the two space superpowers, which persists today.
==============================
I was just out of high school when this event occurred. Watching it on TV; they had just opened the hatches when a G**-D***** Navy recruiter called me and wanted me to join the Navy. I wanted to get back to the event, so I said, "yeah, sure, just send a ship around for me," and hung up on him. Just barely got to see the handshake between Stafford and Leonov.
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
