Space Collaboration: The First Steps

On July 17, 1975, Cold War rivals, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., met in Earth orbit.

Members of the Joint US-Soviet Space Crew

The joint crew for the 1975 Apollo Soyuz Test Project: Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford (left), commander of the American crew; cosmonaut Aleksey A. Leonov (standing on right), commander of the Soviet crew; astronaut Donald K. Slayton (seated on left), docking module pilot of the American crew; astronaut Vance D. Brand (seated in center), command module pilot of the American crew; and cosmonaut Valeriy N. Kubasov (seated on right), engineer on the Soviet crew.

Space Collaboration: The First Steps

Members of the Joint US-Soviet Space Crew

Official Logo for the Mission

President Gerald R. Ford Meeting with the Soviet and U.S. Crews at the White House

Cosmonauts Leonov (left) and Kubasov About to Board

The Soyuz Spacecraft Takes Off from tLaunch Pad in Kazakhstan on July 15, 1975

The Saturn IB rocket Lifts Off From NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida

Apollo in Orbit Photographed from Soyuz Spacecraft Prior to Docking

Astronauts Inside the Apollo Module Photograph the Soyuz Spacecraft in Earth Orbit

Televised Live, Apollo Commander Thomas P. Stafford Greets Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov on July 17, 1975

Clowning Around Inside the Soyuz,, Astronaut Deke Slayton and Cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov Pose Together

Commemorative Plaque Assembled in Orbit by the Two Teams. The U.S. Side is in Blue, the Russian Side in Red