WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

An artist's concept illustrating a cutaway view of the docked Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft in Earth orbit. This scene depicts the moment the two international crews meet in space for the first time. Two of the three American crewmen are in the Docking Module. The two Soviet crewmen are in the Soyuz spacecraft's Orbital Module. The two crew commanders are shaking hands through the hatchway. The third American crewman is in the Apollo Command Module. During the joint U.S.-USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, which is scheduled for July 1975, the American and Soviet crews will visit one another's spacecraft while the Soyuz and Apollo are docked for a maximum period of two days. The mission is designed to test equipment and techniques that will establish international crew rescue capability in space, as well as permit future cooperative scientific missions. The artwork is by Davis Meltzer.