The first extraterrestrial international meeting.Exclusive series about the conquest of the cosmos

The Apollo crew has a lack of oxygen, so the commander sacrifices himself - he goes into space and releases oxygen from the spacesuit. One cosmonaut will be taken away by the Soviet ship Voschod, the other by Dyna Soar.

The film based on Martin Caidin's novel Marooned (in the Czech version, Captured by Space) is very impressive. Even the president of the US National Academy of Sciences, Philip Handler, who was at its premiere in March 1970, made him think. Now such a rescue in space is impossible, the machines of both countries are not compatible, in fact nothing can be connected. He must discuss this with his Soviet partners when he flies to Moscow in a few weeks.

Representatives of NASA and the Academy of Sciences of the USSR exchanged several letters last year, in which they considered broader cooperation between the two countries in space, including the joining of manned vessels. However, nothing has pushed them to speed up their thinking on this topic yet.

In mid-April 1970, Apollo 13 crashed during the flight to the moon. Only thanks to the enormous efforts and ingenuity of the experts on Earth and the perfect training and discipline of the crew, the trio of cosmonauts returned in good health. That was already a strong warning.

A week after the return of Apollo 13, on April 24, NASA Director Dr. Thomas O. Paine, and Academician Anatoly A. Blagonravov, Chairman of the Commission for Research and Use of Space of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. The old acquaintances discussed the possibilities of cooperation between the two countries in space, including mutual rescue.

In May, Handler discussed these matters with the president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, Mstislav V. Keldyš, in Moscow. "The fact that an American film portrayed a Soviet cosmonaut as a hero who saves American lives came as a shock to the Russians," he later said.

Tensions between Washington and Moscow were easing. The convening of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Helsinki was looming. This also made it easier to think about the wider cooperation of the two great powers in the cosmos.

The United States was retreating from big, ambitious plans in space - it canceled the last missions to the moon and stopped thinking about sending people to Mars. They were preparing to launch the Skylab orbital station and later to deploy the space shuttles. That was everything in manned cosmonautics. Cooperation with the Soviets would be an interesting experience, perhaps a stepping stone to further operations, certainly would bring employment for tens of thousands of people at NASA.

Expedited agreement

As early as October 1970, negotiations on piloted flights took place in Moscow. They were led by a five-member group from NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center (now L.B. Johnson Space Center) in Houston, Texas, headed by director Robert Gilruth. The Soviets showed the Americans one of their secrets - the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (Centr podgotovki kosmonavtov imeni J.A. Gagarina) in Star City near Moscow. They also showed them a tunnel for the transfer of people between the two ships, which they had not used before. They mainly discussed the construction of compatible meeting and connecting devices on piloted machines. The protocol, which representatives of both sides signed on October 28, talked about creating compatible systems. They created three joint specialized groups of specialists who have to study a lot of specific problems. Probably the most important was the agreement to construct a device that would enable a firm connection between the two ships.

In January 1971, the acting director of NASA, George M. Low, flew to Moscow. He debated with representatives of the Academy of Sciences about all possible points of cooperation. We don't have to wait for the next generation of spaceships - he suggested. We could try the Soyuz-Apollo merger. The transition tunnel, which solves all technical problems, will be brought out by our machine.

Soviet experts learned to drive to Houston, Americans used to be guests in Moscow. In the summer, the New York Times estimated that the first joint expedition could take place as early as 1974.

Several Soviet engineers led by young Vladimir Syromyatnikov flew to Houston in June 1971 with a project for a so-called androgynous intercourse device.

Scheme of approach of both ships

They dealt with a group led by Caldwell Johnson. During the second year and a half, both teams improved the design, then constructed it according to common documentation in both countries. They tried out the prototypes at home and finally tested them in Moscow. "We developed this node twice as fast as the normal pace of constructing these devices," boasted Syromjatnikov.

In the fall, Professor Konstantin D. Bushuyev, the deputy general designer who was entrusted with leading this project for the Soviet side, suggested to the Americans that the Salyut station could be used for a joint flight. However, detailed meetings of experts showed that this is not possible. We have to use proven machines for such a complex operation! So Apollo and Soyuz. In April 1972, both parties agreed on the date of the joint expedition: the second half of 1975.

Official insignia of the flight

At the end of May 1972, this agreement was confirmed by the highest officials: the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Alexei Kosygin, and the US President, Richard Nixon, who visited Moscow. The American representative discussed a number of issues of cooperation, the Soyuz-Apollo agreement was only a decorative tip.

Work on the Soyuz-Apollo experimental project has begun. In the Soviet Union, it received the abbreviation EPAS - Experimentalnyj poljot Apollon–Soyuz (EPAS), in the West Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP).

The exact date determined

In the fall of 1972, a group of American experts and cosmonauts agreed in Moscow on various technical conditions and the method of selecting crews for this flight. Among them was Thomas P. Stafford, who had begun to teach himself Russian a few months earlier. He reckoned that it would definitely pay off.

They also agreed on the launch date of both ships: July 15, 1975. However, they proposed a broader term for the upcoming intergovernmental agreement: from March 1 to October 1, 1975.

They had to be based on the conditions required by both ships. The launch time of the Soyuz is usually chosen so that two conditions are met on the day of its landing: First, so that during the first orbit on the last day of flight, the cosmonauts can manually orient their cabin towards the Earth in the event that the automatics are canceled. This means that at this moment it must be flying over the illuminated part of the globe. And secondly, to descend on the Earth no later than an hour before sunset in the usual place. This is required by the search parties to find the crew quickly.

Apollo had to launch in such a way that, in the event of an accident during orbit guidance and after the end of the flight, there would still be at least 2-3 hours of daylight in the planned landing areas in the Atlantic or in the Pacific.

It turned out that there was no 100% identical launch window for both vessels, the planners had to agree on a compromise. For example, the US Navy needed 25 minutes of daylight in the summer and an hour and a half in the winter.

Modernization of Soviet resorts

The Soviets decided to modernize a number of facilities for this expedition. He has to represent himself! In Kaliningrad-Podlipky, south of Moscow, where the main missile factories are located, they built a new control center (Centrum upravlenija poljotom - CUP), basically a copy of the flight command in Houston. They put them into operation in record time already in the fall of 1973. In Hvězdné Mešteček, they built new facilities for the centrifuge, a hall with Soyuz simulators and a complex simulator for practicing the approach and connection of Soyuz with Apollo, as well as a hotel, a shopping center and a recreation center. They didn't improve anything at the Baikonur cosmodrome, they won't let the Americans in there. After all, there is a solid hotel there.

In January 1973, NASA appointed crews. Thomas P. Stafford became the Apollo commander, Vance D. Brand the command module pilot, and Donald K. Slayton the transition module pilot. Reservists Marine Capt. Alan L. Bean, Marine Capt. Ronald E. Evans and Marine Lt. Col. Jack R. Lousma.

While Stafford was a space veteran, having looked into space three times before, Brand and Slayton were rookies. The Americans did not consider this expedition too risky, so they could afford it.

In addition, Deke Slayton will become the oldest astronaut. Originally part of the first seven Mercury, he was supposed to be the second American to go into orbit. However, doctors discovered that he had a heart murmur. After an agreement with NASA headquarters, they refused to let him go - it would be too much of a risk. He lashed out in vain, begged in vain - no one wanted to take him to task. However, he remained at the Houston center, the management appointed him chief cosmonaut - he became the god who appointed the crews for the Gemini, Apollo and Skylab expeditions. However, the desire to look into space did not leave him. He was still going through health checks and training if he had time. At the end of 1971, he surprised the doctors - the murmur, which they did not know how to deal with, disappeared. So he could fully return to training in the spring. Everyone wanted to help him. He was forty-eight, that's a lot. The closest mission that was not yet occupied was the Soviet-American flight. And so he got aboard the Apollo.

The main Soviet crew consisted of Colonel Alexei A. Leonov and flight engineer Valery N. Kubasov, both of whom had completed one launch each. The Soyuz test flight, which the Soviets were counting on, will be provided by Colonel Anatoly B. Filipchenko and flight engineer Nikolai N. Rukavishnikov. Major Vladimir A. Dzhanibekov and Boris D. Andreyev, captain Yuriy V. Romanenko and Alexander S. Ivanchenkov were appointed to the reserve pairs.

Getting to know each other

Everyone started learning the other party's language. The ground personnel of both control centers must also know the most basic commands. Even if there will be interpreters everywhere, they still need to be able to communicate on their own. Cosmonauts who will orbit the Earth must master Russian and English very well - so that they can understand each other very quickly.

However, first experts compiled dictionaries of Russian-English and English-Russian jargon. This slang was called "Apollonian" by the Russians and "Rustonian" by the Americans. The Soviets demanded from the Americans tapes of the cosmonauts' conversations during difficult situations, including docking.

In Hvězdné Mešteček and Podlipky, all participants had a mandatory twenty hours of English per week with teachers plus homework. Of course, apart from regular work. Leonov recalled his beginnings with a bit of horror: "I got a young teacher who didn't speak a single word of Russian to me, only English."

Kubasov had a similar feeling: "Learning English was the most difficult thing for us. The other training was not so difficult. We knew space technology.'

In November 1973, Stafford asked Leonova how she was learning English in the Star City. The answer shocked him - every cosmonaut has a personal teacher and sometimes spends 6-8 hours a day on English. And he immediately went to the American embassy to report it to Houston with due emphasis.

Already a year ago, the Piloted Flight Center welcomed the well-known linguist Nicolas Timacheff. This son of an emigrant from pre-revolutionary Russia was born in Paris. In addition to Russian, he had a perfect command of three other languages. Timacheff gradually selected twenty-one interpreters, translators and teachers, most of them experienced experts from the Pentagon and the State Department. Four graduates of American universities were given the task of teaching Russian to the first crew.

Originally, it was expected that the cosmonauts would speak their mother tongue during joint events. But then psychologists and linguists realized that this could cause difficulties. What if, for example, Slayton forgot and started using the dialect of his native Midwest? Or if Leonov quickly grumbled something? No, Americans will speak Russian, Russians English!

In July 1973, the Americans invited Soviet cosmonauts and selected specialists to Houston. At the Johnson Space Center, they prepared a theoretical course of Apollo lectures for them. But most of all, the Soviets were taken aback by the lifestyle of their colleagues. Every American cosmonaut lives with his family in a sprawling villa, as do leading experts. They have several cars at home - depending on how many they need.

Official portrait of both crews

In November, Americans heard similar lessons in Hvězdné Mešteček. Overseas guests were surprised by the collective life in small apartments in tenements. When the Russians told them that years ago they could choose between villas and apartments, and they opted for tenements, they didn't want to believe it. Even in these details, a different way of life was reflected.

Cosmonauts met six times in total - three times in the USSR and three times in the USA. During that time, they became good friends, befriending each other and their families. They got to know each other, learned to work and rest together, gestures started to be enough to understand them.

And this mutual trust and personal bond was perhaps more important to the upcoming expedition than some knowledge of alien space technology.

The complex situation of the Soviets

For example, at the level of NASA and the Soviet Academy of Sciences, cooperation took place almost without a single technical hitch, politically it was still very sensitive. For example, when the Kremlin began harshly criticizing physicist Andrei D. Sakharov for his fight for human rights in the fall of 1973, the US National Academy of Sciences protested in Moscow.

At the turn of May and June 1973, both countries exhibited a model of the Soyuz-Apollo assembly at the 30th Paris Air Show.

Model of the Soyuz and Apollo ships at the Paris Air Show

However, part of the American public remained skeptical of the joint expedition. In particular, Senator William Proxmire for the Democratic Party repeatedly pointed to the low level of Soviet space technology. The renowned magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology devoted two comprehensive articles to it in 1974.

The Soviets tried to refute these rumours. In 1974, they therefore tried their part of the joint expedition in the dirt, even three times. First, they sent two Soyuz in the unmanned version - on April 2 as Kosmos 638 and on August 12 as Kosmos 672. And from December 2 to 8, Filipchenko and Rukavishnikov completed it in Soyuz 16. During this, all operations, including connection and disconnection with by an American machine - because of this, the ship carried part of the new compatible contact node.

The Soviets have had the Salyut 4 orbital station in orbit since the end of last year. It was the first really successful abode in space, with the previous three having had a lot of trouble. From January 11, 1975, Alexei Gubarev and Georgij Grečko inhabited it for four weeks. And on May 24, they sent Pyotr Klimuk and Vitaly Sevastjanov to it in Soyuz 18, who were supposed to set a new record for the stay. So they expected to simultaneously manage two space missions that have nothing to do with each other. Command of Soyuz 18-Salyut 4 was transferred to the old center in Yevpatoria, Crimea, while the international expedition of Soyuz 19 will be led by the CUP in Kaliningrad-Podlipky, which claims to be Moscow.

Senator Proxmire protested: Based on the report he received from the CIA, the Soviets are not capable of effectively managing two expeditions at the same time! NASA management rejected his claim.

There will be no danger of these vessels colliding. "Salyut 4 flies in an orbit that is about a hundred kilometers higher than the Soyuz with Apollo," explained Alexei S. Yeliseyev, head of operations at CUP, himself a three-time cosmonaut and rocket designer. "The crews of Soyuz 19 and Salyut 4 will come close enough to see each other approximately once every two days."

In the middle of May 1975, a large group of Americans arrived in Moscow for the last time before the start. Stafford demanded to be shown the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where the Soyuz is being built. There are your experts at Cape Canaveral who have the opportunity to watch our preparations. We have to look at you too!

However, the hosts refused under various pretexts. Stafford was not deterred: If I can't look at the machine we're going to interface with now, I won't enter it in orbit!

Only after this threat did the Soviets take three American cosmonauts and several specialists, sixteen people in total, to Baikonur on April 28, 1975. The Americans inspected the assembly hall, the launch control center and ramp number one, from which both Sputnik and Gagarin launched. After completing a thorough inspection, an official delegation of NASA management flew there on May 18: the US Joint Project Chief Glynn S. Lunney, NASA Deputy Director for Manned Flight John F. Yardley, Headquarters International Division Chief Arnold W. Frutkin, and the US Spaceport Launch Preparation Manager in Florida Walter J. Kapryan. Bushyev accompanied them. This foursome was more like a tourist visit - they saw the biggest attractions.

On Thursday, July 3, 1975, planes with cosmonauts landed on Baikonur and the Kennedy Space Center. While the two Russians stayed there, the trio of Americans did two simulated starts and then returned to Houston to continue training on the simulators there.

The Russians studied the on-board documentation in English, the Americans in Russian. John Young, who succeeded Slayton as chief cosmonaut, sometimes despaired: "I don't understand our boys at all!"

Apollo will rescue Soyuz

At the Soviet cosmodrome, they prepared not only Soyuz 19, but also a spare rocket with a ship - just in case. The Soviets will start first, followed by the Americans. If the Apollo launch was delayed by more than five days, Soyuz 19 would return and Soyuz 20 would fly after a new date was agreed with Washington.

This order and times did not come about by chance. Originally, NASA officials proposed that Apollo should fly first. They argued that the Soyuz could only fly solo in space for four days, with a day to spare, while their Apollo would last eleven days in orbit with the option of extending the flight by up to three days, so it could wait for the Soyuz in space in the event of Baikonur delays. However, at a meeting in July 1972, the Soviets presented a different plan: The Soyuz would fly first, and we would have a second rocket ready with a different ship. If you didn't make it to the launch in time, our first ship will land and we'll launch a backup. This convinced the Americans.

It was necessary to agree on which course the ships would meet. The correction engines of spacecraft were sufficient – ​​and still are sufficient – ​​only to change their height. Adjusting the inclination of the path to the equator is more energy demanding. So the fundamental problem was that both machines had to be launched on tracks in the same plane.

From Baikonur, it is possible to launch rockets with cosmic bodies only on tracks with an inclination of around 50º. Theoretically, according to the laws of celestial mechanics, a lower inclination could be achieved, up to 46º, but the higher stages of the carriers would fall on the territory of China.

The Americans, who had the more powerful Saturn 1B rocket, decided to get to the orbit used by the Soviets for manned flights, ie around 51.7º And their ship would be active - essentially saving the Russians. This was advantageous because their ship's service module carried much more propellant than the Soyuzs and could therefore maneuver more, and therefore the length of the launch window was longer.

Once the Soviet machine reaches space, the parameters of its trajectory are determined and any changes are stored in the memory of the Saturn 1B control computer. As a result of the Earth's rotation, approximately every 23 hours 35 minutes, a runway plane with an inclination of 51.8º passes over Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. This situation will occur for the first time 7 hours 30 minutes after the launch of the Russian cosmonauts.

Soyuz 19 will leave Baikonur on Tuesday, July 15, 1975 at 12:20 UTC, 3 hours behind Moscow time, or 07:20 Central American Time, which applies in Houston. If the Apollo ASTP failed to launch at the planned time, it could still launch on Wednesday at 15:25 Houston time or on Thursday at 15:00. The combined flight time of both machines would not have to be shortened, it would remain at approximately 44 hours. Only with Friday's launch at 2:35 p.m. could they stay together for only 21 hours, and with Saturday's launch at 2:09 p.m. just under 8 hours. These times are getting shorter due to the fact that the Soyuz of the time were not adapted to a longer stay in space.

Same Style Control Centers

Houston and Moscow were still making sure all preparations were on schedule in the final days before launch. And Stafford and Leonov had a friendly phone call from time to time.

On Sunday, July 13, all time services of the USSR moved their clocks forward by a thousandth of a second. From this point on, they were precisely aligned with the American ones. And at 20:20 Central US time, the clocks at US space centers began to wind down the time remaining until the Apollo launch.

On Monday at noon world time, both control centers started a direct connection by red telephones. “Houston! Houston! This is Moscow," said Vadim Kravec, head of the second Soviet team of operators, in English. “Hello, John. This is Kravec. We've just started a 24-hour standby.”

“This is Houston. Hello Moscow. On Temple's phone," John Temple, assistant manager of Houston's third shift, answered him in Russian.

The Americans sat down at their desks in Houston already on Sunday evening, the Soviets only on Monday at noon. The ground services of both states therefore started their activities according to their customs.

This time, in the main halls of both headquarters, the specialists worked in three shifts of twelve hours each. The number of these teams and the length of their service are governed by the complexity of individual space missions. There were four shifts on the lunar Apollo, as well as on Salyut.

These operators were young people - from twenty-two to thirty-five years old. Their superiors were not much older. Kravec, whose shift is specialized in connection operations, will celebrate his fortieth birthday these days. Viktor Blagov, the head of the first shift that ensures the launch, is thirty-nine, as is Sergey Cybin, who is responsible for the landing. Coincidentally, America's oldest shift leader, Frank Littleton, is born in the same year. However, during joint operations, Chief Flight Officer M.P. "Pete" Frank, 45, will lead his first "gold" shift, while her permanent chief, Littleton, will direct the liaison operations themselves. The leader of the second "silver" team, Neil Hutchinson, is the youngest at thirty-five. Donald R. Puddy, who will lead the third "raspberry" shift, has passed the age of thirty-eight.

Practically the same style of work of the control centers forced their certain uniformity. The most cost-effective way was invented by the Americans when they designed building number 30 in Houston. Its brain is the main hall, where the most important specialists responsible for individual operations and for the entire flight, as well as the project managers - for thirty people - were concentrated. Operators sit at their control and management consoles with computer screens in several rows behind each other. The front of the hall is occupied by a colorful map of the world with all the tracking stations and the marked track of the current flight, possibly with other data. Footage from the cosmodrome, from a spaceship or from a surveillance center is transferred to the film tableau. Rows of colored numbers and letters on the sides of the map indicate the current flight status. The members of the support groups of specialists from the main hall sit in the side rooms. One hundred and fifty highly qualified professionals work in each shift.

Guests and selected journalists watch the activities of the main operating theater from the glass boxes or from the balcony. In addition, there are special computing centers for each space mission.

Soviet journalists themselves referred to the center in Kaliningrad as "our Houston". The only differences were that the Moscow builders had learned from the mistakes of their Houston colleagues and that their architecture was five years more modern.

Both centers had to learn to cooperate. That wasn't easy. Ten Americans settled in the Moscow CUP, and a similar group of Russians settled in Houston. Joint operations trained for a year and a half. Between 12 and 21 May, they conducted a dress rehearsal - the crews of both vessels sat in their trainers and the personnel of both commands took turns at their desks. At the same time, they rehearsed ways out of a hundred different emergency situations.

"Everyone be okay!"

Just before the start, the commanders of both crews called each other. They didn't want anything special, they just needed to be heard.

"We're fully prepared," Stafford reported from Florida.

"Tom, we are prepared too," answered Leonov from Baikonur.

And in joking Anglo-Russian jargon, they reassured each other: "It's okay!"

However, the talks between Houston, Moscow, Baikonur and the Kennedy Center did not stop. Both sides assured each other of the flawless fulfillment of the schedule. Only the representatives of the leading teams always kept in touch, otherwise there would be chaos. On Tuesday, July 15, the day of the start, from eight o'clock Moscow time, when it was midnight in Houston, these dialogues became the rule - every sixty minutes, Yuri Denisov and Jay Honeycutt checked off the completed points of the pre-start preparations.

At noon Moscow time (MDV - moskvskoje degretnoye vremja) Soviet television began a live broadcast of the start from Baikonur and CUP - it was a historic moment, for the first time in history cameras were allowed to watch such an event live. At three minutes past twelve, they intercepted a blue bus that arrived at the launch pad number 1. Leonov and Kubasov got out of it, gave the traditional report to the chairman of the state commission, General Keri A. Kerimov, and got into the elevator that took them to the top of the rocket. So far, their American colleagues have been sleeping soundly in the Kennedy Center's manned flight building.

In the end, the Soviets also invited American representatives to the launch - Ambassador Walter Stoessel and his wife, the Embassy's scientific attaché and NASA Deputy Director William Shapley. Academician Boris N. Petrov and cosmonaut commander General Vladimír A. Šatalov were their hosts. It had showered a little during the night, so the Kazakh steppe had cooled down a bit, but there was still a dry heat of thirty-one degrees in the shade, which the light breeze was not enough to moderate.

Preparations for Baikonur, where it is two hours more than in Moscow, were directed by academician Valentin P. Gluško, the third in line to head the design office in Kaliningrad-Podlipky. However, his deputy Bushuyev was formally responsible for them.

At 12:50 MDV, both cosmonauts settled down in the landing section - the commander on the left, the flight engineer on the right. Both were wearing snow-white spacesuits - on the left side of the chest name tags in both alphabet and Latin. Their ascent into space was not expected, so they could take spacesuits on board, lightweight, which only weigh around ten kilograms. According to Soviet regulations, they must have them in all so-called dynamic operations, where there is a risk of breaking the hermeticity of the cabin - this was the expensive experience of the tragedy of the Soyuz 11 crew.

At 13:11, the technicians closed the door to the cabin and checked its tightness. At 13:35, the most important preparations of the Soyuz-U rocket with Soyuz 19 were completed. They did not have to use the fifteen-minute reserve.

A little while later - at 13:50 DMV, or 05:50 Houston time (CDT - Central Daylight Time), which corresponded to 04:50 Eastern American Summer Time (EDT), which applies at Cape Canaveral - the Americans began the final cycle of preparations for the launch Saturn 1B with Apollo.

At 2:20 p.m., the MDV flight leader Yeliseev, who was sitting in the CUP, announced an hour-long alert for all Soviet services. However, this order also applied to the American surveillance network, which will monitor the operations of both vessels.

At 15:00 MDV - that is, twenty minutes before takeoff - permission to continue operations came from Florida: "Go!"

After ten minutes, Florida again confirmed: "Go!" And Moscow and Baikonur followed: "Yes!" Now the automatic machines took over the control of the start.

At 15:20:00 MDV, Soyuz 19 took off for the first international rendezvous in orbit. In Houston they had 07:20 CDT, in Florida 08:20 EDT and here in Central Europe 13:20 CET.

The third stage of the launch vehicle burned out after 530 seconds of flight. Soyuz 19 entered orbit at an altitude of 191–218 km with an inclination of 51.76º to the equator.

The start was controlled by the center on Baikonur, only then the Moscow CUP took over responsibility for its flight.

Politicians do not miss such international events. The General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, Leonid Brezhnev, made himself visible with a telegram wishing the cosmonauts of both countries a successful flight.

Moscow confirmed: Apollo can fly!

On ramp 39B at Cape Canaveral, they began filling the tanks of Saturn 1B with liquid oxygen, kerosene and liquid hydrogen. Refueling will take about five hours. The rocket must launch within 24 hours or they would have to defuel.

Lunney congratulated Bushuyev by phone. And he added that NASA Director James Fletcher is escorting Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to the cosmodrome.

At first, Soyuz 19 was monitored by the Džusaly station and then Ussurijsk. He was then picked up by the American ship Vanguard, anchored in the South Pacific near New Zealand. For the first time in the history of cosmonautics, the flight of a Soviet spacecraft was officially ensured by the American ground services and the American communication satellite ATS-6. Of course, they did it before, but because the Americans wanted to know as much as possible about the Soviet space program. The Soviets retaliated against the Americans. It was actually espionage that everyone knew about, but delicately kept quiet about.

During the fifth orbit around the Earth, the cosmonauts began to reduce the pressure on board. This was the next necessary step to the meeting. On board the American ship the pressure will be even lower. So that the stay in the transfer module, which was supposed to serve as a transition chamber, did not last long hours, they had to reduce the pressure in the Soyuz to two thirds of the atmosphere. This operation will take two and a half hours.

When they turned on the TV cameras, it turned out that none of them were working. What happened? Moscow sent them instructions on how to fix the TV network. But the cosmonauts had other concerns, they embarked on a series of biological experiments. They are to investigate the effect of weightlessness, radiation and the geomagnetic field on the growth and inheritance of various biological cultures. They will watch TV later.

On the American shore of space, preparations continued. At 07:42 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Saturn 1B's computer received the first accurate data on Soyuz 19's orbit.

At 11:30 local time, Stafford, Brand and Slayton came in for a final medical check-up. Half an hour later they had breakfast combined with lunch.

Three hours before the start, all preparations stopped for almost 30 minutes. That was the usual time reserve. Nothing was delayed this time, all the work went exactly according to schedule, so they didn't have to use it.

A million spectators gathered around the American spaceport - about the same as when the first people were launched to the moon in the summer of 1969. This time they were attracted by the thought that Apollo would fly for the last time, the next time only shuttles would go into space with people.

The American cosmonauts board the bus that will take them to the rocket

Two and a half hours before liftoff, at 12:20 a.m. CDT, which applies on board, the astronauts took their seats: Brand on the left, Stafford in the middle, and Slayton on the right.

Stafford joked with Houston signalman Karol Bobek: "Bo, are you going to rest the start for us today in English or Russian?"

Bobko was also a cosmonaut. Both the Americans and the Soviets have adopted the custom of cosmonauts, colleagues of those at the top, serving as liaisons in the command room. It contributes to mutual trust.

At 13:29 CDT, the final feed of new Soyuz 19 orbit data after its first correction to Saturn 1B's computer began.

At 14:10 CDT, Moscow confirmed to Houston: “Everything OK. Apollo can fly.'

Apollo launch for joint flight

At 14:50:01 CDT, Saturn 1B with Apollo lifted off from the launch pad. As soon as the rocket left the ramp, Houston took control of the flight. This is the difference between the Soviet and American management styles.

In 9 minutes 46 seconds, Apollo reached the parking runway at an altitude of 153–166 km with an inclination of 51.75º to the equator. While the Americans were just crossing the Atlantic, the Russians were already flying over Belgrade – they were 6,625 km apart.

Also, President Gerald Ford, who took over the White House from Nixon, sent a congratulatory message to both crews. Acting President of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR Vladimir Kotelnikov and NASA Director James Fletcher exchanged congratulatory telegrams.

Slow approach

The transition module was carried by Apollo. They installed it at the end of the craft, where the lunar module hung during flights to the moon. This means that the cabin with the cosmonauts and this module were separated by the service section. There was nothing left but to rebuild the machine - just like during the lunar expeditions. The command and instrument sections separated from the transition module pod, rotated 180º, and then merged with it. Stafford, who was in charge of the operation, complained that he found it easier to go to the moon.

Cosmonauts registered the first minor inconveniences. A large Florida mosquito entered the cabin, but later mysteriously disappeared. The atmosphere of pure oxygen probably killed him.

At 18:41 CDT, the commander turned on the main engine for one second. This put the ship on a higher trajectory - almost circular at a height of less than 170 km. Leonov and Kubasov were just laying down to sleep.

Next approach steps replicated the Apollo landings at the Skylab station.

They ignited the main engine a second time at 20:39 CDT, this time for three seconds. The ship reached orbit at an altitude of 174–238 km. Apollo in the lower elliptical orbit was still catching up with the Soyuz, circling the higher circular orbit much more slowly. This was part of the approach tactic.

Then Brand discovered the misfortune. He could not release the locks that hold the communication device between the command cabin and the transition module. After connecting with the Soyuz, they would not be able to transfer to it.

"Everything went well according to the instructions on the guidance device," reported the Houston cosmonaut. “Absolutely wonderful until operation number 11. Twelve means to release the catch of locks number 7 with the key. device and is it listening?”

“This is Houston, reception! Go on," Bobko reassured him.

So he went on to explain: “…There is something that prevents the key from getting down. It seems to me that one connector from the pyrotechnics is in the way. Normally the key is supposed to go between them, but one of them is twisted, it's in the way, and I can't get the key there.'

Brand wanted to remove the cover of the pyrotechnics and start repairing it, but the center forbade him to do so. You're tired, get some sleep, we'll figure something out and tell you in the morning!

It's not possible without malfunctions

Cosmonaut Vladimír Džanibekov, who served as a liaison officer in CUP on Tuesday, went to Hvězdné Mešteček on Wednesday morning to simulate a malfunction of the cameras on the Soyuz 19 trainer. The fault was in the switch in which individual cameras are switched off and on. "Džani", as everyone calls him, made a mistake in 40 minutes. Also in Houston they imitated the fault on the contactor locks. And they repaired it as Brand intended - they removed the pyrotechnics cover and rushed to the connector.

Everyone carefully wrote down these procedures. When the bachelors wake up in the morning up there, they dictate their course of action.

Leonov and Kubasov got up at nine o'clock Moscow time. After breakfast, they had to undergo a medical examination. While before, cosmonauts wore electrodes recording their physiological functions continuously, now they have made them into special coverings that they put on only occasionally. Both were fine, their heart rates showed: Commander 54-60 beats per minute, Flight Engineer 60-64.

They managed the television network without difficulty. However, they had to cut open the wall in the orbital module and find the faulty switch. Then they devoted themselves to biological experiments. They photographed the condition of ringworms and collected microorganisms from their skin and mucous membranes, as well as from the cabin, into test tubes. Scientists want to find out how much microbes change in space and, moreover, in a closed space - what if they adversely affect cosmonauts?

At 15:43 MDV, Leonov switched on the main engine of his ship for 21 seconds. By doing so, he launched it into a holding orbit at an altitude of 218–231 km. Soyuz 19 was ready for the first international rendezvous.

The Apollo crew was woken up by Houston with a song at 07:45 CDT - they had a 15:45 MDV aboard the Soyuz.

After the necessary morning procedures and breakfast, Brand set about the repair. He finished it in half an hour. Now the astronauts could open the door to the transition module and go inside to inspect it.

The Americans also began a series of scientific experiments, mostly biological. In addition, they wanted to test the preparation of various materials in a weightless state that could be useful in electrical engineering and the pharmaceutical industry.

The higher temperature persisted aboard the Apollo. Turns out the air conditioning isn't broken like everyone thought. Heat, which was not originally calculated, is emitted by the recording equipment and apparatus for connection with the ATS-6 satellite. Experts at the Houston center have come up with a wonderful improvisation - a makeshift cooling device made of spacesuit hoses, with which they drive cold oxygen to the heating devices.

Sometimes the cosmonauts were worried about the pressure indicator in oxygen tank number 2. It dropped to zero and reported an alarm. Upon inspection, they discovered that it was just a prank that caused the faulty indicator.

"A space flight without some problems is not possible," commented the chief American flight director "Pete" Frank.

Near Precision Approach

At 15:08 CDT, the Apollo crew fired four maneuvering engines for 24 seconds. In doing so, she fine-tuned the orbit of both bodies – they came into one plane with an inclination of 51.76º.

At 18:47 CDT, which is less than two hours after midnight Moscow time, Apollo was 2,336 km behind the Soyuz. With each round trip, it got closer to it by 259 km. However, the cosmonauts have not seen each other yet.

At midnight Houston time, when the first morning shifts start in Moscow factories, the machines flew over the South Atlantic. They were still separated by over 1,800 km.

Before two o'clock, the Apollo crew was awakened by an alarm on the navigation system. They searched in vain for the defect, even Houston did not discover it. Within an hour the flashing and honking was repeated. Nothing again! Apparently a stray impulse in the electrical circuit.

At 2.45 Soyuz 19 flew over Madagascar. Apollo was about 1,300 km to the northwest.

Results of ground station measurements showed that the Soviet craft got to the planned path with high accuracy. The yaw was 250 meters while the tolerance was 1500 meters. Even the time difference of arrival at the designated rendezvous point was satisfactory - it differed by 7.5 seconds, while the allowed tolerance was 90 seconds.

At 07:00 CDT, the two machines were separated by 895 km. Astronauts began to try to communicate with each other on ultra-short waves. So far in vain.

At a distance of 471 km, the crews saw each other for the first time. Apollo fired the main engine one more time for a single second – changing its orbit to an elliptical one at an altitude of 209-210 km and catching up with the Soyuz faster.

Above the Mediterranean Sea at 08:05 CDT or 16:05 DMV, the astronauts finally made contact with each other. Again, the jokes that showed their enthusiasm.

Upon entering the Earth's shadow, Kubasov turned on the onboard beacons.

A view of the Soyuz from the Apollo deck

Began a series of small approach maneuvers by Apollo. At 08:35 CDT, the main engine ignited for two seconds and at 09:11 for one second. The Americans were flying 16 km lower than the Russians on the circular track - thus they were catching up.

Kubasov announced: "Apollo is 89 km from us."

It took a while for the experts on Earth to consult. Then cosmonaut Georgy Shonin from the Moscow headquarters said: "I allow the connection at the scheduled time."

At 10:17 a.m. CDT, the Apollo main engine ignited for the last time, this time for 0.9 seconds.

Šonin pointed out: "Thirty-nine kilometers. Apollo transitions into fighter orbit.'

The American ship chased the Soviet one exactly according to the methodology developed during the Gemini project and used for the lunar module rendezvous with Apollo. Apollo flew past the Soyuz in a large arc, while continuously turning to face it. For a rescue operation, this method of final maneuver is the most advantageous. From the point of view of ballistics, it is relatively simple, without the help of terrestrial tracking centers, the Apollo on-board computer was completely sufficient for additional calculations.

At 10:40 CDT, or 18:40 DMV, both machines flew over Australia. They were two kilometers apart - Apollo ahead of Soyuz. They aimed at each other with their communication nodes.

Richard Truly of Houston informed them that both Air Commands agreed to merge.

Stafford maneuvered gently again. At 10:54 a.m. CDT, the two bodies were flying in formation, 50 meters apart. The radio connection was very complicated on the route Soyuz – Apollo – satellite ATS-6 – ground station Madrid, from there by satellite Intelsat 4 to Houston and satellites and cables to Moscow.

Cosmonauts made sure they could see each other. Stafford reported, "Closer to Soyuz." Through his cockpit window, he focused on a target on the nose of the target ship.

Leonov didn't stop joking: "Don't forget your engines!"

Stafford: “Okay… Less than five meters away.”

Houston couldn't see well, so Truly asked Slayton, "Deku, can you zoom in on the camera a little bit?"

Stafford: "Three meters... Meter... Touch."

Leonov: "We also touch." And then a little theatrically: "Soyuz and Apollo are now shaking hands."

Over the Atlantic about 1100 km southwest of the Portuguese shores, at 11:09:12 Houston time, i.e. at 19:09:12 Moscow time, both ships were caught. Six minutes before he set the flight plan. Initially, the machines were supposed to touch down over the German Democratic Republic and complete the fixed connection over Ukraine.

With a force of twenty tons, the contact system of the American vessel began to attract the Soviet one. As if two people's fingers found each other in the dark, they touched, and now their fingers are tightly intertwined. For what seemed like an eternity, the automation controlled all operations until finally the locks clicked firmly. It took less than four minutes.

This was followed by a hermetic check of the newly created harmony and the operation of the most important on-board systems.

Common dinner

The Americans opened two doors of the transition module. They immediately smelled something. They didn't know what he was made of, he was unpleasant but not dangerous. Slayton and Stafford closed the door behind them again. After checking the tightness, they started changing the air. They added nitrogen to the pure oxygen with a pressure of one third of the atmosphere that they breathe in Apollo. And then they increased the pressure to two-thirds of an atmosphere. Brando was left on duty at the onboard instruments.

Now that they were breathing the same as the Russians, they could open the door to the Soyuz. At 2:19 PM CDT, they shook hands and patted each other on the back. They had just flown over Amsterdam. Salyut 4 was 6000 km away from them.

When they calmed down a bit, they settled into the Soyuz orbital section. They left the door to the transition module open - what if the Americans had to leave their hosts in a hurry?

Political formalities again: Brezhnev sent them a message and Ford called them on the phone. Then the cosmonauts gave each other small gifts and signed an official protocol on the joint flight for the International Astronautical Federation.

The Russians invited the visitors to dinner. They had already chosen the dishes several months ago. The menu was purely cosmic - in packages, tubes and cans.

Americans were surprised when they read VODKA on one type of tube. Alcohol doesn't belong in space, it's forbidden! But when they brought them to their mouths, they felt delicious borscht on their tongues. Then they took pieces of meat from the can, to which they selected pieces of bread from the bags. They ended the feast with prunes with nuts and sweets. At the same time, Leonov drew the guests in a sketchbook.

After five o'clock Houston time, Bobko began to admonish Stafford and Slayton to return. You are prolonging the visit compared to the plan!

When the Americans closed the door between the transition module and the orbital section, they found that a leak remained in the tunnel between them. Hutchinson told them to create an overpressure that would seal the door shut.

The return trip was more difficult. A sudden transition from an environment with a higher pressure to an environment with a lower pressure cannot be tolerated by the human organism. They must breathe pure oxygen, which washes the nitrogen out of their blood. This procedure took over half an hour.

After returning, the cosmonauts went to sleep. It was a busy day after all.

On Baikonur, they canceled the standby Soyuz. The main task of the ASTP-EPAS project was accomplished. They take the rocket and ship back to the assembly hall. Cosmonauts Filipchenko and Rukavishnikov will return to Moscow tomorrow.

The Happiest Day

Americans had an early alarm clock - at two in the morning Houston time. For the Russians, it was ten o'clock Moscow time.

This time Brand and Leonov went to visit. Kubasov and Stafford acted as their guides.

Leonov and Stafford assemble a common emblem aboard the Apollo

Leonov took photographs from the Apollo deck, talked to command centers and colleagues in Soyuz. Brand worked out with a muscle booster and talked to Moscow. They also signed other documents and had breakfast.

Cosmonauts told television viewers all over the world about their work. Over the territory of the USA in English, over the territory of the USSR in Russian. At the same time, they continued their scientific experiments - they took processed samples out of the universal furnace and exchanged tree seeds.

Before noon Houston time, visits were exchanged. Brand took Kubasov to Apollo, Leonov took Stafford to Soyuz.

The onboard press conference has started. Both commanders agreed that cooperation in space is a wonderful thing and should continue. Everyone was having the happiest day.

When the big words that everyone meant, they had to get back to work. Stafford and Leonov exchanged additional seed samples as well as cases and ampoules of microorganisms for immunological research. Slayton and Kubasov returned to the experimental furnace.

They didn't want to say goodbye. They kept putting them off under various pretexts. In the end, it hit ground headquarters hard. Kubasov did not return to Soyuz until 23:15 DMV, Stafford to Apollo at 15:45 CDT.

Now don't do anything! – the communicators from Earth ordered them. They knew the astronauts were tired. After all, Stafford must have taken his tranquilizers last night.

Emergency plans were useless

At 07:02 CDT Friday, Apollo detached from the Soyuz. Below them ran the waters of the South Pacific.

Astronomers came up with an original experiment. Apollo is supposed to cover the solar disk, actually create an artificial eclipse, and the Soyuz crew will photograph it.

It was a difficult operation. Apollo, Soyuz and the Sun must form one straight line. At the same time, the night, i.e. unlit, surface of the planet should be under both vessels. This eliminates the adverse effects of light reflected from the Earth.

Apollo sailed to a distance of 220 meters. It is now twice the size of the Sun. Kubasov turned on the camera. For three minutes, they acquired high-quality images of the solar corona.

After this experiment, Apollo returned to Soyuz. They repeat the connection. This time, however, a Soviet ship will play an active role.

When the ships touched again, they suddenly spun. Everyone froze. Luckily it was slow and only lasted forty seconds. And after seven minutes, the connecting locks clicked.

After a two-hour joint flight, the ships separated for the last time. At 10:27 CDT or 18:27 DMV they moved away from each other.

One last experiment. Apollo sent ultraviolet rays to a mirror installed on the side of the Soyuz, whose reflection it captured. At different distances – 150, 1000 and 1500 meters. Physicists had already estimated the concentration of atomic oxygen and nitrogen in space, now they wanted to confirm it in this way.

At 15:05 CDT, Stafford briefly engaged the main engine. Apollo moved into a higher orbit, so the Soyuz slowly overtook them.

On Sunday, July 20, the cosmonauts rested. They deserved it. In the Moscow press center, executives showed off red and green booklets to journalists, in which detailed instructions for dealing with emergency situations were drawn up. They weren't needed at all!

Soyuz 19 landed happily in Kazakhstan on Monday at 13:50:53 Moscow time.

The Americans continued a series of experiments and photographed the earth's surface.

An unexpected struggle for life

On Wednesday, the Apollo crew jettisoned the transition module. He would be in her way now. The landing was scheduled for the early evening of Thursday, July 24.

At 15:38 CDT, the Apollo main engine fired for seven seconds. Less than half an hour later, the ship entered the dense layers of the atmosphere.

At an altitude of 18 km - or 50 thousand feet - Slayton, sitting in the right seat, asked Stafford: "You tell me, Tom, when we are at 30 thousand ..." At that moment, when they are 9 km above the Earth, Slayton is to give Brando instructed to turn on the ELS (Earth Landing System) automatics. He starts the camera himself, which captures the opening of the parachutes.

After a while, Stafford, eyes fixed on the altimeter, called out, "Get ready... Thirty thousand... to twenty-seven thousand."

"Yes, it's running now," Slayton confirmed. "Landing system on automatics."

However, Brand cannot hear him, there is a lot of noise in the cabin caused by friction with the atmosphere.

“No parachutes!” Stafford was horrified at an altitude of 8 km. Slayton confirmed, "I don't see any."

Commander Stafford flipped the manual parachute release switches. Three seconds later, Slayton announced, "The parachute cover is now gone."

Another three seconds later, Stafford was relieved: "I can see them now." At an altitude of 7 km, two small stabilization parachutes fluttered above the cabin.

The cabin swayed beneath them. Since the ELS automation was not engaged, the RCS motors, which control the orientation of the cabin during descent through the atmosphere, started working again to suppress the fluctuations. A cloud of nitrogen dioxide vapor formed around the module from unburned propellants.

At that time, a valve opened, drawing in ambient air to equalize the pressures inside and outside the cabin, and poisonous gases entered the cabin.

Nitrogen oxide is a strong corrosive, highly poisonous, which can even cause death. The cosmonauts swallowed, had trouble breathing, coughed, and their eyes burned.

For half a minute this yellow danger penetrated Apollo. Brand passed out, the two of them didn't feel any better.

The last Apollo touched down in the Pacific Ocean near the Hawaiian Islands – 600 meters from its intended location – at 16:18:24 CDT and overturned. The cosmonauts, strapped into their chairs, hung upside down. It was noon in the Pacific, shortly after midnight in Moscow.

No one knew that the crew was fighting for their lives. Stafford found a breathing mask under the chair. Brand regained consciousness only after the oxygen bath. The automatic fire protection system turned on the ventilation.

Houston still knew nothing. The cosmonauts were silent. They stripped out of their heavy spacesuits. The Frogmen secured the cabin from sinking. The procedure continued as planned, the inflated Apollo floats flipped over to their normal position. In three-quarters of an hour, the aircraft carrier New Orleans came to Apollo and pulled her aboard with a crane.

This was followed by a ceremonial welcome - the admiral's speech, music, other celebratory speeches, and the departure of the sailors with an honor roll. However, the knees buckled under the trio of celebrants.

The cosmonauts only confided their last fight for life to the doctors in the doctor's office. The examination confirmed it - all suffered from lung irritation as a result of inhaling nitrogen dioxide. But they are not in danger.

Success without continuation

"Even though three and a half years ago, when this project began to be prepared, we believed that we would completely fulfill it, we still did not expect that it would be with such great precision ", the commander of the Soviet cosmonauts, General Vladimír Šatalov, evaluated the joint expedition.

In the same tone, the director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Christopher Kraft, spoke: "Frankly speaking, when we began to prepare the ASTP project, we had serious concerns about whether this expedition would succeed. The differences in many technical principles and methodologies bothered us as much as the language barrier. We also had a different way of thinking. A job that usually took us ten minutes to complete took a whole day. But over time we learned to understand each other and understand each other. We felt a shared responsibility for working together.”

Both Brezhnev and Ford were satisfied. At the end of July, statesmen met in Helsinki, Finland, for the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. It seemed that the communist East would converge with the non-communist West. In the fall, Soviet and American specialists evaluated the results of ASTP-EPAS. They agreed that around 1980 the American space shuttle could connect with the Soyuz-Salyut.

However, the Americans soon realized that this cooperation was not very beneficial for them. The Soviets gained much more technical information and knowledge from them than they did from them. These issues were also discussed very sharply in the US Congress.

It soon became clear that Moscow does not take the Helsinki conclusions, especially when it comes to respect for human rights, seriously. A new round of the Cold War occurred when the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan in late December 1979.

Warming only came in the following decade, when Mikhail Gorbachev took over the government in the Kremlin.