SOYUZ SPACECRAFT SEEN FROM APOLLO

Creator

Southwestern Oklahoma State University
NASA

Preview

Creation Date

7-15-1975

Description

SOYUZ AS SEEN FROM APOLLO – The Soviet Soyuz 19 is seen from the USA Apollo spacecraft at a range of approximately 35 meters during the first joint USA-USSR space mission, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The Soyuz is against the black space background while heavy clouds cover the Earth below in the area of northeast South America. The three components of the Soyuz vehicle are the instrument assembly module (left), descent module (center), and the orbital module (right). The docking mechanism, compatible with a similar USA unit, protrudes to the right of the orbital module. One of the winglike solar panels, which provide electrical power, protrudes from the instrument assembly module. Other protrusions are the navigation periscope and antennas. Cosmonauts Aleksey A. Leonov and Valeriy N. Kubasov, returned to Earth July 21, 1975, in the bell-shaped descent vehicle with its circular window visible here.

The Apollo window frame is seen at the right and to the lower left of the photo. An Apollo radio antenna protrudes into the top left corner of the view. The photograph was taken by Apollo Commander Thomas P. Stafford using a 70mm Hasselblad camera with a 50mm lens.