Apollo–Soyuz Test Project

The 1975 joint American–Soviet space mission in which an Apollo spacecraft and a Soyuz spacecraft docked in orbit. It demonstrated crewed spacecraft compatibility and marked a high-profile act of cooperation during the Cold War.

Androgynous Peripheral Attach System: A docking mechanism designed so either spacecraft can act as the active or passive partner. Its experimental docking hardware joined Apollo and Soyuz despite their different national systems.
Détente: A period of reduced tension and increased diplomacy between Cold War adversaries. The easing of U.S.–Soviet tensions created room for a joint crewed mission.
Thomas P. Stafford: An American astronaut and Air Force officer who commanded Apollo 10 and the Apollo–Soyuz mission. Stafford commanded Apollo and led its crew through the rendezvous and joint mission.
International Space Station: A permanently crewed research station in low Earth orbit operated through an international partnership. Later U.S.–Russian cooperation in human spaceflight built on experience established by the mission.
Apollo–Soyuz handshake: The in-orbit greeting between American astronaut Thomas Stafford and Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov after docking. The handshake became the mission's defining image of cooperation.
Docking adapter: A device that connects spacecraft with otherwise incompatible docking systems. The Apollo–Soyuz adapter reconciled different docking mechanisms and provided an airlock between spacecraft.
Cold War: The prolonged geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II. The mission's cooperation was notable against the backdrop of this rivalry.
Alexei Leonov: A Soviet cosmonaut who became the first person to conduct a spacewalk in 1965. Leonov commanded Soyuz and became the mission's most recognizable Soviet crew member.
Shuttle–Mir program: A 1990s partnership in which Space Shuttles visited the Russian Mir space station. It renewed practical U.S.–Russian crewed cooperation after the end of the Cold War.
Apollo–Soyuz joint experiments: Scientific and technical investigations conducted jointly by the Apollo and Soyuz crews in orbit. The experiments tested whether crews could conduct coordinated work after docking.

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