Joint Soviet-American space flight. So similar and so different Soyuz and Apollo. Emergency Rescue System

Fig.1. Artist's reconstruction - July 17 and 19, 1975: Apollo and Soyuz-19 dock in orbit during the joint ASTP flight. From left to right: astronauts D. Slayton, T Stafford and V. Brand, cosmonauts A. Leonov and V. Kubasov

1. Introduction

What is EPAS

Experimental flight "Apollo" - "Soyuz" (), eng. Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) - joint flight program Soviet ship"Soyuz-19" and the American spacecraft "Apollo".

The program was approved on May 24, 1972 Agreement between the USSR and the USA on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes (hereinafter, abbreviations and emphasis in quotations are made by the author):

- testing of elements of a compatible rendezvous system in orbit;
- testing of active-passive docking units;
- verification of machinery and equipment to ensure the transition of astronauts from ship to ship;
- accumulation of experience in conducting joint flights spaceships USSR and USA.

1975: There is faith in the honesty of partners - there is no room for doubt

In July 1975, the press widely wrote about the joint flight of manned spacecraft of the two, then the only space powers (ill. 1). On July 15, 1975, Soyuz-19 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (A. Leonov - commander and board - engineer V. Kubasov). After 4 hours from the cosmodrome. Kennedy (Florida) launched the Apollo (T. Stafford - commander, W. Brandt and D. Slayton). The ships docked twice: on 17 July and 19 July. Astronauts and cosmonauts visited each other. Several joint experiments have been carried out in space. On July 19, the ships undocked and soon returned to Earth in their assigned areas (Soyuz-19 on July 21, Apollo on July 24). This is the official version of the flight.

Fig.2. Pages of Soviet newspapers dedicated to the flight of ASTP on July 15 and 18, 1975

It seemed that this flight marked the beginning of new friendly relations between the great powers. Take a look at the "caps" from Soviet newspapers (ill. 2): "Good wishes ...", "Orbit of cooperation", "Historical handshake". And the author, then still a young specialist, sincerely believed in everything that the newspapers wrote about this flight. Yes, and how not to believe? If solemn congratulations from such leading politicians as US President D. Ford, Soviet Secretary General L. Brezhnev, UN Secretary General K. Waldheim and others were flowing.

Note 1: According to NASA, the Apollo that participated in the ASTP experiment did not have its serial number. Therefore, in cases where there is a risk of confusing the Apollo we are interested in with the previous Apollos, we will call it Apollo-ASTP.

The ASTP project was hatched by both sides from the very beginning of the lunar race

Even the first "Apollo" did not start "to the Moon" (A-8, December 1968), and already in 1967 there were negotiations about what would later be called ASTP.

“An agreement was reached between the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Academician M. V. Keldysh, and the Director of NASA, Dr. Payne, on a meeting of specialists to discuss cooperation in the field of manned flights. The meeting took place in October 1970 at the Academy of Sciences in Moscow. The American delegation was headed by the director of the Johnson Center for Manned Flight Dr. R. Gilruth, the Soviet delegation was headed by the chairman of the Intercosmos Council for International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space under the Academy of Sciences Academician Petrov B. N. (Further) meetings of specialists were held in Moscow and Houston alternately. And led by Soviet side B. N. Petrov, and from the American - R. Gilruth».

It was R. Gilruth who led the American "flights to the moon" , and not Wernher von Braun - the unfortunate creator of the "mythical" rocket "Saturn-5", (raised on this shield without any reason at the suggestion of irresponsible media). In 1972, a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR was appointed the technical director of the project from the USSR, and G. Lanny (NASA, Johnson Center) from the American side.

By this time, the fame of American flights to the moon had already thundered throughout the world. The last "flight to the moon" was Apollo 17 in December 1972. And already in May 1972 in Moscow, US President R. Nixon and General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L.I. Brezhnev signed a final agreement on the joint flight of the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft.

In those years, the author among his comrades and colleagues at work did not meet anyone who would doubt the "landings on the moon." Moreover, there was not a single reason for doubt on the part of the Soviet leadership. And we perceived all this in such a way that from now on the USSR is the number 2 space power. Our most powerful Protons are pale shadows of the giant and victorious American Saturn V. Our Soyuz spacecraft is smaller and, therefore, worse than the American Apollo (ill. 1).

The reasoning of amateurs, but that was - that was. In general, we lost to America in all respects. Thank God that the Americans still agreed to some kind of international flight. It remained to rejoice at least this and to believe in the hopes of the coming eternal peace.

Note 2. The Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU (Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union) was the highest body political power in USSR. The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the head of the Politburo in the years under review was L.I. Brezhnev (1964-1982).

2011: faith in the honesty of partners left - doubts came

What made you rethink the almost forgotten and seemingly such a clear event as ASTP? First of all - completely new knowledge about the history of the lunar race. Efforts of hundreds of researchers revealed facts of deception in "flights to the moon". At first, these were separate guesses, then the score of doubtful facts went into tens and hundreds. And now these researchers do not put "flights to the moon" except in quotation marks. And in our time, the discovery of more and more flaws in lunar evidence NASA is no longer without laughter.

Fig.3. NASA's "Great Forum" lunar epic

But it turned out that there is reason to doubt the honesty of the Soviet side. No, not Soviet specialists. Each of them did everything possible for the lunar victory and completely trusted the political leadership. But studies have inexorably shown that the American the hoax of flights to the moon took place with the consent and assistance of the top Soviet leadership. Of course, unselfish help. And therefore completely loses credibility the statement of the defenders of NASA: “Ours, if something were wrong, they would immediately expose!” . No, such exposure was disadvantageous to those who contributed to their defeat in the lunar race. As a result, our understanding of the true content of the lunar race has changed radically. What did Brezhnev's Politburo do for the success of the lunar epic? And what did it exchange for the brilliant results of the selfless labor of tens and hundreds of thousands of Soviet space specialists?

1968-1970: First sale of Pobeda.
The flyby of the Moon by the Soviet cosmonauts is prepared. CC: NO! CANCEL!"

The now famous Soyuz spacecraft was created specifically for the task of a manned flight around the moon. It still remains unsurpassed and therefore the only means of delivering astronauts to the ISS. The UR-500 (Proton) rocket was created to launch the Soyuz into a lunar orbit. It is still one of the most powerful rockets in the world today and has launched the main modules of the ISS into orbit. But its American counterpart ("Saturn-1B") disappeared without a trace in the year of ASTP, apparently "embarrassed" by the inevitable loss in the competitive struggle. In the unmanned flight version, the Soyuz was called 7LK1 (“Zond”). The United States did not have anything like the Soviet "Probes". Since 1967 to 1970 to practice a successful return to Earth were launched 14 (fourteen!) launches of "Probes". (Let the subsequent numbering of the “Probes” not knock you down, as some, including those obviously unsuccessful, did not receive their numbers). On this path, Soviet specialists had both successes and failures, but, in the end, complete success came.

Fig.4. a) The descent vehicle of the automatic "Zonda-7", which returned to Earth (1969) after flying around the moon . b) Earth above the lunar horizon, taken by Zond-7 during its flyby of the Moon

On April 4, 1968, the Americans failed to test the Saturn-5 lunar rocket. And 19 days later, they announced that on December 21 of the same year, the Apollo 8 manned spacecraft would fly around the moon. General N.P. Kamanin, head of the Cosmonaut Training Center (hereinafter referred to as the CTC), wrote in his diary:

“continue to carry out its flight program without adapting it to American tricks. I warned everyone that we would prepare a manned flight around the moon for January 1969, and if the Americans successfully fly on Apollo 8, then we would postpone such a flight until April.

In November 1968, Zond-6 flies around the Moon, successfully enters the Earth's atmosphere, approaches the landing area, but at the last moment the parachutes do not work. NASA is already reporting in December that Apollo 8 circled the Moon. These days, our cosmonauts are just eager to step on the heels of the Americans. Here are the words of A.A. Leonov (he was appointed to the crew to fly around the moon):

“It was necessary to go on a manned flyby of the moon even after Frank Borman flew around the moon. The lunar landing program has not been canceled, we will still have to start the landing with a flyby. There is a ship. Let me fly! CC: No! .

What is behind this "no"? Emotions, annoyance? In real politics, it is not emotions that rule, but the interests of one's own country. Here are two relevant examples. On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched the first satellite. The Americans did not say: "We are so upset that we will not launch our satellite." Their first satellite flew 4 months later (January 31, 1958), and the first unsuccessful attempt was made on December 6, 1957.

On April 12, 1961, Yu. Gagarin flew into orbit. Nearly a year later (February 20, 1962), NASA was able to report that an American spacecraft had made its first orbital flight. What kind of flight it was, and whether it was orbital - a topic for a separate article. The main thing is that the Americans did not hesitate to catch up or even pretend that they were catching up.

Or maybe the Politburo lost faith in the need for "Probes" or in the abilities of Soviet specialists? It also doesn’t look like it, because Soviet specialists are given another year and a half to fully work out the Zonds. And the well-deserved success comes: in 1969 - 1970. our specialists are carrying out two completely successful launches and returns of Zonds #7 and #8. The way to fly around the moon is open to astronauts!

And then, quite unexpectedly, the Politburo removed the task of a manned flight around the moon. Two ships, fully equipped for a manned flight around the moon, remain on Earth. It turns out that machine guns can fly around the Moon, but astronauts can’t! Absurd?

And this is how to look. But one thing became clear - not caring for astronauts was the basis of the first Politburo ban on manned flight around the moon, pronounced in December 1968.

The claims that Soviet Union decided to withdraw from the lunar race for purely economic reasons. Every year the USSR spent hundreds of times more money on the arms race. And at that time no one was going to reduce these funds. In addition, the development of space rockets was only a relatively insignificant offshoot of a much larger and costly state task - the nuclear missile weapons of the USSR. So, to launch the first satellite (PS), one R7 rocket was needed. And soon hundreds of R7 missiles were on combat duty. The PS itself was a cheap metal ball equipped with a radio transmitter and stuffed with batteries. So the space race could not ruin the Soviet Union. But the international resonance after the launch of the PS was huge.

Let's get back to the manned flyby of the moon. Its role in the growth of the international prestige of the USSR would be enormous. For this project, as already mentioned, a pair was developed - the Soyuz spacecraft and the Proton rocket. And here the costs compared with the costs of the arms race were miserable. To this it is worth adding that both of these products have already paid for themselves a hundredfold with commercial launches alone. Yes, and when it’s tight with money for space flights, they don’t scatter it and don’t throw it in a landfill "two ships fully equipped for manned flight around the moon". So the thesis "space race" ruined the USSR, is contrived by unscrupulous authors, and does not stand up to the simplest criticism.

Behind all this, there is another reason:

THE POLITBURO DID NOT STRIVE TO VICTORY IN THE MOON RACE, ALTHOUGH IT HAD ALL THE TECHNICAL PREREQUISITES FOR THIS.

That is why it turned a blind eye to the “flying around the moon” by Apollo 8 and to the “landing” of Apollo 11. For what price? More on this below. But until the "Probes" learned how to reliably return to Earth, the Politburo did not have an effective means of pressure on the Americans in stock. "Apollo - 8" "by the tail" can not be grabbed at all. After all, according to NASA, he only circled the moon. And there are no traces left in orbits. Another thing is the first "landing" of "Apollo - 11". To land and not inherit is impossible. One landing stage from the lunar module, allegedly remaining on the Moon, is such a trace that, flying over the landing site, it is impossible not to notice. And right here the double success of Probes No. 7 and No. 8 gave the Politburo the first perfect tool for blackmail. Experts perceived this success as opening a road for astronauts, and for the Politburo, Zonds No. 7 and No. 8 were trump cards for bargaining, which they had long dreamed of getting. Now, gentlemen of the Americans, we have demonstrated our ability to fly around and control the Moon. And your “landings” are in our hands. You will be stingy - we will send around the Moon not automatic "Probes", but full-fledged ships with crews. And they will quickly establish whether there is at least something at the place of the so-called "landings". Well, if we agree, the crews will not fly, and you will be able to continue your "landings on the moon." Blackmail? Of course! big politics.

And so it will be, as we will see, more than once. Soviet specialists were allowed to come close to solving one or another milestone task of the lunar race. But as soon as the light of success flared up at the end of the tunnel of endless technical difficulties, the signal “STOP!” immediately followed from the Central Committee. Is it because blackmail and bargaining are possible only when the threat is quite real, but not carried out?

P.S.: The story is like about the ASTP project will be quite long due to both the significant amount of material under consideration and the accumulated questions regarding the "oddities" of the Russian and American space programs, and not only space programs. There will be inevitable repetitions of facts and assumptions already known to part of the audience. In short, there will be a lot of things, but I hope it will be informative and interesting, especially in those cases when familiar and seemingly obvious facts and phenomena suddenly sparkle with new unexpected facets and turn out to be not so familiar ...

And I would like to immediately warn you about one more thing: the author in the original of his articles, for reasons quite understandable to me, uses literally a huge mass of links to third-party sources. I, unlike him, do not plan to prove anything to anyone, and therefore I will simply omit most of these often, in my opinion, redundant references, leaving only those that seem significant to me PERSONALLY. The meticulous reader will always be able to turn to the source and use the links there.

Between Soviet and American scientists in the field of space exploration began immediately after the launch of the first artificial earth satellites. At that time, they boiled down mainly to the exchange of received scientific results at various international conferences and symposiums. A shift towards the development and deepening of Soviet-American cooperation in space exploration was outlined in 1970-1971, when a number of meetings of scientists and technical specialists from both countries took place. On October 26-27, 1970, the first meeting of Soviet and American specialists on the problems of compatibility of means of rendezvous and docking of manned spacecraft and stations was held in Moscow. At the meeting, working groups were formed to develop and agree on technical requirements to ensure the compatibility of these tools.

Handshake in space: the Soyuz-Apollo program in archival footageThe launch of the Soviet spacecraft "Soyuz-19" and the American "Apollo" took place 40 years ago, on July 15, 1975. Look at archival footage of how the first joint space flight took place.

On April 6, 1972, the final document of the meeting of representatives of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) laid the practical foundation for the Apollo-Soyuz experimental project (ASTP).

In Moscow, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin and US President Richard Nixon signed the "Agreement between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes", which provided for the docking of a Soviet Soyuz-type spacecraft and an American Apollo-type spacecraft during 1975 in open space with mutual transition of astronauts.

The main objectives of the program were the creation of a promising universal rescue equipment, the development of technical systems and methods of joint flight control, the implementation of joint scientific research and experiments.

Especially for a joint flight, a universal docking port is a petal or, as it is also called, "androgynous". The spade connection was the same for both docking ships, which made it possible not to think about compatibility in an emergency.

A major problem in the docking of ships was the question of the general atmosphere. Apollo was designed for an atmosphere of pure oxygen at low pressure (280 millimeters of mercury), while Soviet ships flew with an onboard atmosphere close in composition and pressure to that of the earth. To solve this problem, an additional compartment was attached to the Apollo, in which, after docking, the parameters of the atmosphere approached the atmosphere in the Soviet spacecraft. In Soyuz, because of this, the pressure was reduced to 520 millimeters of mercury. At the same time, the Apollo command module with one astronaut remaining there had to be sealed.

In March 1973, NASA announced the composition of the crews of the Apollo spacecraft. The main crew included Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald Slayton, while the backup crew included Alan Bean, Ronald Evans and Jack Lousma. Two months later, the crews of the Soyuz spacecraft were determined. The first crew is Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov, the second is Anatoly Filipchenko and Nikolai Rukavishnikov, the third is Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Boris Andreev, the fourth is Yuri Romanenko and Alexander Ivanchenkov. At the same time, it was decided that each ship would be controlled by its own MCC (Mission Control Center).

On December 2-8, 1974, in accordance with the Soviet program of preparation for a joint space experiment, the flight of the modernized Soyuz-16 spacecraft was carried out with the crew - Anatoly Filipchenko (commander) and Nikolai Rukavishnikov (flight engineer). During this flight, tests of the life support system, testing of the automatic system and individual components of the docking unit, testing of the methodology for performing joint scientific experiments, etc. were carried out.

On July 15, 1975, the final stage of the project began with the launch of the Soyuz-19 and Apollo spacecraft. At 15:20 Moscow time, the Soyuz-19 spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome with cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov on board. And seven and a half hours later, the Apollo spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral (USA) with astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald Slayton.

On July 16, the crews of both spacecraft were engaged in repair work: on the Soyuz-19, a malfunction was discovered in the television system, and on the Apollo, an error was made when assembling the docking mechanism on the ground. Cosmonauts and astronauts managed to eliminate the malfunctions.

At this time, there were maneuvers and the approach of two spacecraft. Two orbits before docking, the Soyuz-19 crew set the spacecraft's orbital orientation using manual control. It was maintained automatically. During the period of preparation for each maneuver, control was provided by the jet system and the Apollo digital autopilot in the area of rendezvous of the ships.

July 17 at 18.14 Moscow time (MSK) began the final phase of the rendezvous of the ships. Apollo, which used to catch up with Soyuz-19 from behind, came out 1.5 kilometers ahead of it. The docking (touching) of the Soyuz-19 and Apollo spacecraft was recorded at 19.09 Moscow time, the compression of the joint - at 19.12 Moscow time. The ships docked, becoming the prototype of the future international space station.

After a rough check of the tightness in the Soyuz-19 spacecraft, the hatch between the descent vehicle and the service compartment was opened, and a precise check of the tightness began. Then the tunnel between the Apollo docking module and the Soyuz domestic compartment was pressurized to 250 millimeters of mercury. The cosmonauts opened the hatch of the Soyuz's amenity compartment. A few minutes later, the hatch of the Apollo docking module was opened.

The symbolic handshake of the ship commanders took place at 22.19 Moscow time.

The meeting of Alexei Leonov, Valery Kubasov, Thomas Stafford and Donald Slayton in the Soyuz-19 spacecraft was observed on Earth on television. During the first crossing, the planned TV reports, filming, the exchange of the USSR and the USA flags, the transfer of the UN flag, the exchange of souvenirs, the signing of the certificate of the International aviation federation(FAI) about the first docking of two spacecraft different countries in orbit, a joint lunch.

The next day, the second transition was made - astronaut Brand transferred to the Soyuz-19, and the commander of the Soyuz-19, Leonov, to the Apollo docking compartment. The crew members were familiarized in detail with the equipment and systems of another ship, joint TV reports and filming, physical exercises, etc. were made. Later, two more crossings were made.

The world's first international press conference in space took place aboard the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft, during which cosmonauts and astronauts answered the questions of correspondents transmitted from Earth from the Soviet and American press centers by radio.

The flight of the spacecraft in the docked state lasted 43 hours 54 minutes 11 seconds.

The ships undocked on July 19 at 15.03 Moscow time. Then Apollo moved 200 meters away from Soyuz-19. After the experiment

"Artificial solar eclipse The spacecraft approached again. A second (test) docking took place, during which the Soyuz-19 docking unit was active. The docking device worked without remarks. two hours 52 minutes 33 seconds.

Upon completion of the joint and own flight programs, the Soyuz-19 crew successfully landed on July 21, 1975 near the city of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan, and on July 25 the command module of the Apollo spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. During landing, the American crew confused the sequence of switching procedures, as a result of which poisonous fuel exhaust began to be sucked into the cockpit. Stafford managed to get oxygen masks and put them on for himself and his unconscious comrades, and the efficiency of the rescue services also helped.

The flight confirmed the correctness of technical solutions to ensure the compatibility of rendezvous and docking facilities for future manned spacecraft and stations.

Today, the docking systems developed for the Soyuz-19 and Apollo spacecraft are used by almost all participants in space flights.

The success of the program was largely due to the extensive experience of the crews of the American and Soviet ships.

The experience of the successful implementation of the Soyuz-Apollo program served as a good basis for subsequent international space flights under the Mir-Shuttle program, as well as for the creation with the participation of many states of the world and the joint operation of the International Space Station (ISS).

On July 15, 1975, the launch of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft in the USSR and Apollo in the United States began the first joint space flight in the history of mankind between representatives of different countries.

Contacts between Soviet and American scientists in the field of space exploration began immediately after the launches of the first artificial earth satellites. At that time, they were reduced mainly to the exchange of scientific results obtained at various international conferences and symposiums.

A shift towards the development and deepening of Soviet-American cooperation in space exploration was outlined in 1970-1971, when a number of meetings of scientists and technical specialists from both countries took place.

On October 26-27, 1970, the first meeting of Soviet and American specialists on the problems of compatibility of means of rendezvous and docking of manned spacecraft and stations was held in Moscow. At the meeting, working groups were formed to develop and agree on technical requirements to ensure the compatibility of these tools.

Handshake in space: Soyuz-Apollo program in archival footage

Handshake in space: the Soyuz-Apollo program in archival footage

On May 24, 1972, in Moscow, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin and US President Richard Nixon signed the "Agreement between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes", which provided for docking during 1975 the Soviet Soyuz-type spacecraft and the American Apollo-type spacecraft in open space with the mutual transfer of cosmonauts.

Especially for the joint flight, they developed a universal docking port - petal or, as it is also called, "androgynous". The spade connection was the same for both docking ships, which made it possible not to think about compatibility in an emergency.

A major problem in the docking of ships was the question of the general atmosphere. The Apollo was designed for an atmosphere of pure oxygen at low pressure (280 millimeters of mercury), while Soviet ships flew with an onboard atmosphere, in composition and pressure close to that of the earth. To solve this problem, an additional compartment was attached to the Apollo, in which, after docking, the parameters of the atmosphere approached the atmosphere in the Soviet spacecraft. In Soyuz, because of this, the pressure was reduced to 520 millimeters of mercury. At the same time, the Apollo command module with one astronaut remaining there had to be sealed.

Soyuz-Apollo

Soyuz-Apollo mission

In March 1973, NASA announced the composition of the crews of the Apollo spacecraft. The main crew included Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald Slayton, while the backup crew included Alan Bean, Ronald Evans and Jack Lousma. Two months later, the crews of the Soyuz spacecraft were determined. The first crew - Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov, the second - Anatoly Filipchenko and Nikolai Rukavishnikov, the third - Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Boris Andreev, the fourth - Yuri Romanenko and Alexander Ivanchenkov. At the same time, it was decided that each ship would be controlled by its own MCC (Mission Control Center).

At this time, there were maneuvers and the approach of two spacecraft. Two orbits before docking, the Soyuz-19 crew set the spacecraft's orbital orientation using manual control. It was maintained automatically. In the area of rendezvous of the ships, during the preparation for each maneuver, control was provided by the jet system and the Apollo digital autopilot.

After a rough check of the tightness in the Soyuz-19 spacecraft, the hatch between the descent module and the service compartment was opened, and a precise check of the tightness was started. Then the tunnel between the Apollo docking module and the Soyuz household compartment was pressurized to 250 millimeters of mercury. The cosmonauts opened the hatch of the Soyuz's amenity compartment. A few minutes later, the hatch of the Apollo docking module was opened.

The symbolic handshake of the ship commanders took place at 22.19 Moscow time.

The meeting of Alexei Leonov, Valery Kubasov, Thomas Stafford and Donald Slayton in the Soyuz-19 spacecraft was observed on Earth on television. During the first transition, the planned TV reports, filming, the exchange of the USSR and the USA flags, the transfer of the UN flag, the exchange of souvenirs, the signing of the International Aviation Federation (FAI) certificate on the first docking of two spacecraft of different countries in orbit, a joint lunch were held.

The next day, the second transition was carried out - astronaut Brand transferred to the Soyuz-19, and the commander of the Soyuz-19, Leonov, to the Apollo docking compartment. The crew members were familiarized in detail with the equipment and systems of another ship, joint TV reports and filming, physical exercises, etc. were made. Later, two more crossings were made.

The flight of the spacecraft in the docked state lasted 43 hours 54 minutes 11 seconds.

The ships undocked on July 19 at 15.03 Moscow time. Then the Apollo retreated 200 meters from the Soyuz-19. After the experiment

"Artificial solar eclipse" spaceships approached again. A second (test) docking occurred, during which the Soyuz-19 docking unit was active. The docking device worked without comment. After carrying out all the checks at 18.26 Moscow time, the divergence of the spacecraft began. The second time the ships were docked for two hours 52 minutes 33 seconds.

The flight confirmed the correctness of technical solutions to ensure the compatibility of rendezvous and docking facilities for future manned spacecraft and stations.

Today, the docking systems developed for the Soyuz-19 and Apollo spacecraft are used by almost all participants in space flights.

The success of the program was largely due to the extensive experience of the crews of the American and Soviet ships.

If you take a closer look
to Soviet sources, you start
understand something.

This is how the Soyuz-Apollo docking took place. It can be seen with the naked eye that Soviet film materials are used. And the speaker has characteristic intonations. When and by whom the film was made, we will find out.

The duration of the video is less than 20 minutes. Try to find for yourself that small detail that caught my attention. If you feel sorry for the time, start watching from the 12th minute. If there is no patience even for 1.5 minutes, welcome under cat.

Transcription of the words of the announcer from 12.46 to 12.55.
"Seven hours and thirty minutes after the launch of the Soyuz, the Saturn-1Ve rocket with the Apollo spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy test site. ".

It would still be necessary to find out if the announcer misspoke? Not in the sense that the English "V" was voiced in Russian by "Ve". And that he confused it with the Saturn-5 rocket. The question is not simple. The carrying capacity of Saturn-1V into an orbit with a height of 195 km is 18.1 tons. And the mass of the Apollo is no less than 20 tons, even without the command compartment. At least NASA says so. For example, the mass of the command compartment of Apollo 17 is 20.5 tons. Moreover, this is a "dry" mass, without fuel.
They could, of course, remove equipment that was not required - after all, they were not flying to the Moon - but they also had to be equipped with an airlock device. In any case, the question arises: But what about "Saturn-5"? After all, according to NASA, there were still two rockets left.

In fact, if you listen carefully to everything - besides, it's interesting - the same Leonov, then an interesting feeling is born. Twice Hero of the USSR, cosmonaut Leonov A.A. can defend the "American feat" as much as he likes. That's just him personal experience, its priceless evidence contradicts the words of its owner.

It's not a sin to chuckle quietly over this. In the video below, Leonov, in his interview, tells the details of his famous spacewalk. Look. Good for general development.

1) From the moment 3:40, Alexei Arkhipovich says that as a result of an error, the ship ended up close to the Van Allen belt. Literally five miles away. It turns out that there were fears of grabbing a dose of radiation that the body would not painlessly digest (" There, about 500 x-rays could be grabbed ").
Everything worked out. We see Aleksey Arkhipovich still alive and well. He received only 86 billion.

2) That flight was full of emergencies. And one specifically concerned Leonov, when his spacesuit inflated. He dropped the pressure to half. According to him, he took an unacceptable risk, but there was nowhere to go. Could boil nitrogen in the blood with a sharp drop in pressure. Everyone knows the dangers of sudden decompression. There is no discussion of this moment in this video. But there are many films from Leonov. You can, for example, look (the moment is 7:45, but it is long and drawn out there, look for a long time).

Now let me ask you some tough questions.
- How was the problem of pressure regulation during the descent to Earth of the command compartment solved? An internal pressure of one third of atmospheric pressure must rise to atmospheric pressure. The design was such that it could not withstand even a difference of half the atmosphere. From within. I believe that excessive pressure outside (in the same half-atmosphere) could also be fatal.
An increase in internal pressure from a third to a half threatened to burst the tin can, which the Americans solemnly called the "Apollo command module." The difference between the external pressure of one atmosphere and one-third inside could crush the structure like a tin bucket. How sometimes it crushes tanks that do not need to be made too thin.
So I'm asking how NASA solved this problem. During the descent, they had to gradually raise the internal pressure to equalize with the external one. Something I have not heard about the corresponding equipment.

The second unpleasant question is about radiation. There is no need to explain anything here. Our most respected and popular spaceman has directly stated the amount of radiation that an astronaut in the Van Allen belt should have received. Even in calm sun.
A tin bucket, referred to by an American misunderstanding as "Apollo", - I beg your pardon for my causticity, - of course, gives some kind of protection. But anyway. The nasanauts behind the Van Allen belt flew for a whole week. Wandered on the moon for several hours, i.e. no longer protected by the hull. And nothing. "Returned" cheerful, vigorous and healthy.

There are days when our entire planet lives with one breath, one interest. And on all continents of the earth, opening newspapers, people are looking for messages about one thing. And they think about one thing.

This is exactly what July 1975 was like. The whole world followed with excitement and unceasing interest the first joint flight of Soviet and American spacecraft in the history of mankind under the Soyuz-Apollo program.

For the first time the idea of cooperation in outer space was expressed by our compatriot. More than half a century ago, in 1920, the book by K. E. Tsiolkovsky “Out of the Earth” was published. In this science-fiction story, the scientist outlined the program he had long and comprehensively considered for preparing for and implementing space travel. Tsiolkovsky was a great visionary, for he argued that it would be most expedient to conquer and explore outer space with the help of an international team of scientists, engineers, workers, and inventors.

40 years later, in the newspaper Pravda, the great Russian scientist Sergei Pavlovich Korolev - this is exactly what Comrade L. I. Brezhnev called the designer of rocket and space systems in his speech dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the USSR Academy of Sciences - wrote:

“One can hope that in this noble, gigantic cause, the international cooperation of scientists, imbued with the desire to work for the benefit of all mankind, in the name of peace and progress, will expand more and more.”

And now the idea is being put into practice. The outstanding joint Soviet-American experiment has become a real space holiday for the people of the Earth. Its success opens up new prospects for the joint work of various countries in the study and exploration of outer space for the benefit of all mankind.

For more than three years, scientists, engineers, technicians, workers, cosmonauts and astronauts in the USSR and the USA have been tirelessly solving complex organizational, technical and simply human problems, exchanging knowledge, experience, and ideas in order to successfully carry out the Soyuz-Apollo program. This became possible thanks to the positive shifts in Soviet-American relations, thanks to the steady implementation of the Peace Program proclaimed by our Party.

The Soviet country strives to ensure that the practical cooperation of states on a mutually beneficial basis will bring ever more fruitful results. The Soyuz-Apollo program clearly showed the wide possibilities and mutual benefit of combining the efforts of two largest countries peace for the sake of solving those gigantic tasks that face all mankind. These are conservation issues. environment, development of energy and natural resources, research and exploration of space and the oceans.

The experience of the successful implementation of the Soyuz-Apollo program can serve as a good basis for conducting new international space flights in the future.

The joint work of Soviet and American specialists on the preparation and implementation of an unprecedented space flight is discussed in this book. Each of its chapters is a story about solving one of those technical or organizational problems that the participants of ASTP, the Soyuz-Apollo experimental program, faced.