WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

An excellent view of the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in Earth orbit, photographed from the American Apollo spacecraft during the joint U.S.-USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) docking mission in Earth orbit. The Soyuz is contrasted against a white-cloud background in this overhead view. The three major components of the Soyuz are the spherical-shaped Orbital Module, the bell-shaped Descent Vehicle and the cylindrical-shaped instrument Assembly Module from which two solar panels protrude. The docking system on the Orbital Module was specially designed to interface with the docking system on the Apollo's Docking Module. The ASTP astronauts and cosmonauts visited each other's spacecraft while the Soyuz and Apollo were docked in Earth orbit for two days. The Apollo crew consisted of astronauts Stafford, commander; Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, docking module pilot; and Vance D. Brand, command module pilot. The Soyuz 19 crew consisted of cosmonauts Leonov, command pilot; and Valeri N. Kubasov, flight engineer.