In the summer of 1975, 50 years ago, millions around the world watched an event that would have been unthinkable only a few years earlier. An American Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz capsule leading to a handshake in Earth orbit. As the first international space mission, the Apollo Soyuz Test Project led to extensive cooperation ongoing today.
“A human being has made the first ever walk in open space. He is at this very moment flying free in space.” This was the announcement of Soviet cosmonaut Pavel Belyayev during a television broadcast on March 18, 1965. Fellow Voskhod-2 crewmember Alexei Leonov climbed out of their spacecraft, exited an airlock and floated alone 310 miles above the Earth. It was another stunning spaceflight “first” for the Soviet Union 60 Years ago.
What was to have been America’s third lunar landing in April 1970, became a struggle to safely return the crew after an oxygen tank explosion crippled the crew’s spacecraft. During a reunion of key players involved in the Apollo 13 mission, they recalled what has been termed “NASA’s finest hour.”