Space Rocket History Podcast

The American astronauts acknowledged the necessity of enhancing their Russian language proficiency. They observed that their Russian counterparts, had demonstrated a remarkable commitment to learning English, dedicating 6 to 8 hours each day to individual language instruction.

The post Space Rocket History #455 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – Spacecraft Orientation first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

For the first time, the Soviet Union publicly announced the crew assignments for a Soyuz mission before the flight. Previously, cosmonaut identities were kept secret until after their flights.

The post Space Rocket History #454 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – Astronauts & Cosmonauts first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

According to George Low, the Soviet mission operations control room was quite large – it contained 16 two-man consoles, thus allowing them 32 flight controllers. In addition, there was a back row of consoles which were used for personnel such … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #453 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – Mid-term Review first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

In April of 1972, George Low returned to Washington from Moscow and briefed Henry Kissinger. He conveyed NASA’s assessment that a joint space mission in 1975 was feasible.

The post Space Rocket History #452 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – Full Speed Ahead first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

In a re-evaluation of the proposed test mission, the Soviets concluded that utilizing the Salyut spacecraft would not be technically and economically viable.

The post Space Rocket History #451 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – No More Salyut? first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Finally Kraft and Gilruth told the Soviets that if they were unwilling to agree to the telephone conversations then the NASA delegation might as well pack up and go back to Houston. After some hesitation, the Soviets decided to try … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #450 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – Round 3 with the Soviets first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

The spacecraft designers led by Caldwell Johnson faced a demanding task. Director Gilruth urged them to accelerate the development of the docking adapter design, aiming to have a functional model ready for the upcoming November meeting with the Soviets.

The post Space Rocket History #449 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – Apollo-Salyut Test Mission Planning first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

Two options were presented: Apollo docking with Salyut/Soyuz or Soyuz with Skylab/Apollo. Caldwell Johnson was taken aback by the Soviets’ eagerness to immediately pursue the development of a universal docking mechanism.

The post Space Rocket History #448 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – Soyuz/Skylab & Apollo/Salyut first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

On January 20th, 1971 in private negotiation, Low and Frutkin met with Keldysh and Feoktistov to discuss rendezvous and docking. NASA proposed developing compatible systems for Apollo and Soyuz rather than future spacecraft, aiming to give specialists something concrete on … Continue reading →

The post Space Rocket History #447 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – Creating a Partnership first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.

A critical problem emerged during the separation and ignition of the third stage approximately five minutes into the flight.

The post Space Rocket History #446 – Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – Tell Us All Your Secrets first appeared on Space Rocket History Podcast.