With just six months left until the historic first international space docking mission, ground preparations for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program (ASTP) are intensifying. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) are stacking the last Saturn rocket to be assembled for the mission. In the nearby Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB), the main Apollo crew members included commander Thomas Stafford, command module pilot Vance Brand and the docking module Pilot Donald "Deke" Slayton, and their replacements Alan Bean, Ronald Evans and Jack Losma Lousma) Conducted indoor testing of the vacuum-operated Command Module (CM), the last Apollo spacecraft to be ready for flight.

The Saturn IB rocket (serial number SA-210) used for ASTP has a long history. Contractors originally built two of its stages in 1967, as NASA planned more Saturn IB flights to test Apollo spacecraft components in Earth orbit in preparation for the moon landing. However, by 1968, after four unmanned Saturn IB launches, only one had been launched, Apollo 7. Four Saturn IBs remain in use for launching manned spacecraft as part of the Apollo Applications Program, which was renamed Skylab in 1970. Both stages of the SA-210 entered long-term storage in 1967. Later, workers modified and refurbished ASTP's stage before shipping it to KSC. The first stage arrived in April 1974 and the second stage in November 1972.

Inside the massive VAB on January 13, 1975, workers stacked the first stage of the Saturn IB rocket onto Mobile Launcher 1 (ML-1), which was used to launch the Saturn V during the Apollo program. of rocket and add milk. Stool base. The Milk Stool is a 128-foot-tall platform that allows the Saturn IB to use the same launch umbilical tower at Launch Complex 39 as the larger Saturn V rocket. The next day, crews lowered Level 2 onto Level 1 and then lowered Level 1 onto Level 2. Instrument unit two days later. Finally, on January 17, workers completed loading and unloading the rocket with a prototype Apollo spacecraft while engineers continued to test flight projects in the MSOB.

The Command and Service Module – CSM-111 – arrived at KSC on September 8, 1974 aboard a C-5A Galaxy cargo aircraft from the Rockwell International facility in Downey, California. Rockwell completed construction of the spacecraft in March 1970 and stored it until July 1972. Modifications were made to ASTP between August 1972 and August 1974, after which Rockwell transported the spacecraft to KSC. A sign on the container reads "From A to Soyuz – Apollo/Soyuz – Last and Best." KSC staff hauled the module to the MSOB for inspection and verification, connected the two modules, and placed the combined spacecraft into the vacuum chamber.

In the MSOB, the primary and backup ASTP crew members conducted tests of their spacecraft in the high-altitude module. In December 1974, after the two crew members completed the simulation operation, the main crew members of Stafford, Bland and Slayton dressed fully, entered the CM cabin, closed the door, and carried out the operation on January 14 In actual testing, the cabin simulated altitudes up to 220,000 feet. Two days later, Beane, Evans and Losma's backup crew completed a similar test.

To solve the problem of the Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft operating at different atmospheric pressures and compositions and using incompatible docking mechanisms, engineers designed a docking module (DM) that acted as both an airlock and a transfer tunnel, as well as a docking module that allowed The two countries' spacecraft physically met in space. NASA contracted with Rockwell International to build the DM. Engineers equipped one end of the DM with a standard Apollo probe and drogue docking mechanism and the other end with a hermaphrodite system that connected to the other half mounted on a modified Soyuz spacecraft. During launch, the DM resides within the Spacecraft Lunar Module (LM) Adapter (SLA) on top of the rocket's upper stage, just like the LM during the Apollo flights. Once in orbit, astronauts separated the CSM from its upper stage, turned the spacecraft around, docked with the DM and pulled it out.

After extensive vacuum testing in Room B of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the DM vehicle arrived at Kennedy Space Center on October 29, 1974, where crews prepared for more testing in the MSOB's vacuum chamber. The DS flight arrived at KSC on January 3, 1975, and workers installed it on the DM two weeks later. On January 27, engineers lowered the DM to the CM in the altitude chamber to conduct a mechanical docking test. Engineers conducted joint testing of TV and audio equipment for 10 days to ensure system compatibility.

to be continued…

Major events around the world in January 1975:

January 5 - The musical "The Wizard of Oz" opens on Broadway for 1,672 performances.

January 6 – The game show Wheel of Fortune premieres on NBC.

January 8 – Ella Grasso of Connecticut becomes the first elected female governor in the United States

January 11 - The S-II second stage of the Skylab-launched Saturn V rocket re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.

January 12 - The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.

January 15 – Space Mountain opens at Disney World in Orlando.

January 18 - "The Jeffersons" premieres on CBS.

January 22 – Landsat-2 Earth resources monitoring satellite is launched.

January 30 - Ernő Rubik applies for a patent in Hungary for his Rubik's Cube (later known as the Rubik's Cube).