ASTP: The Beginning of 50 Years of East-West Collaboration in Outer Space

At the end of World War II, the allied alliance was replaced by the East and West “Cold War” marked by the United States (U.S.) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) rivalry on Earth and in space. The launch of the Sputnik 1, followed by Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin spaceflight, shook the American political and technological confidence and launched the “Space Race.” The space rivalry lasted 25 years, until the start of the Détente [1967–1979]. One of the first highly publicized peaceful collaboration was a joint ASTP space mission and the launch of the U.S./USSR Joint Working Group on Space Biology and Medicine. Apollo and Soyuz space crafts were launched on July 15, 1975, and docked on July 17, 1975. The space crafts remained docked for two days with multiple successful crew transfers using the Docking Module.