Apollo-Soyuz

On July 17, 1975, an American Apollo command and service module docked with a Soviet Soyuz 7K-TM spacecraft, making the Apollo-Soyuz the first manned international space mission. Once connected, the American and Soviet crews shook hands (which can be viewed in this NASA video), and completed joint and separate scientific experiments. The two spacecraft were docked for nearly two days.

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) had been years in the making, and was considered just the first of multiple missions to come – up to and including the international space station. (This was the final Apollo mission for the United States, which shifted to the Shuttle program thereafter.)

_{^{National Security Adviser – Presidential Agency File, Box 14, “National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2).”
NAID: 7347324
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library}}

President Gerald Ford’s 62nd birthday was celebrated on July 14, 1975, and the astronauts offered a successful mission as their gift to their Commander-in-Chief.

_{^{Presidential Handwriting File, Box C24, “Presidential Handwriting, 7/11/1975.”
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library}}

Three days later, the President called the astronauts and cosmonauts from the Oval Office to congratulate them on a successful docking.

_{^{Presidential Handwriting File, Box C24, “Presidential Handwriting, 7/17/1975.”
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library}}

The telephone the President used that day is now in the collections of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, along with several other memorabilia commemorating this historic mission.

_{^{President Ford used this telephone to talk directly to the astronauts and cosmonauts during the Apollo-Soyuz mission on July 17, 1975. It was the first international space mission. (_^1988.648.1}})_{^{Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum}}

_{^{Model of the docked Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft. (1992.3)
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum}}

In October 1975, President Ford met with the astronauts and cosmonauts, and their families, during a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House¹. Messages between the heads of both countries indicated an appreciation for the cooperation, as well as a hope for continued joint scientific endeavors in space². In the 50 years since this historic venture, outer space has had numerous dockings, uniting countries beyond the United States and Russia.

Author: Brooke Clement

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