Space Rocket History Podcast

Eight cosmonauts arrived in Washington, D.C. on February 7th, 1975 to start their final training session in the U.S. as the technical specialists argued whether the spacecraft was ready or not.

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The origin of the Soviet’s concern, regarding the potential impact of the Apollo Command Module’s Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters on the Soyuz spacecraft during docking maneuvers, can be traced back to a Skylab film.

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Soyuz 16 served as a comprehensive rehearsal for the Soviet contribution to Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP).

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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.

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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.

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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 →

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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.

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

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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 →

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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.

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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.

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The crew of Soyuz 17 embarked on a historic 29-day mission, surpassing the previous Soviet mission-duration record of 23 days set by the Soyuz 11 crew aboard Salyut 1 in 1971.

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The Salyut 4 space station, designated DOS-4, marked the second phase of the Soviet Union’s civilian space station program. It was an improved version of the failed Salyut 2 station, with several notable enhancements.  

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Initially, the rendezvous with Salyut 3 proceeded smoothly. However, as the Soyuz spacecraft approached the station, a critical problem arose. The Igla rendezvous system, designed to guide the spacecraft to the station, malfunctioned.

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