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Episodes Tagged with "Deke Slaton"

Posted on July 30, 2015

Selection of Group Two virtually depleted the pool of qualified candidates from the small corps of test pilots in the country, and it was the last group for which test-pilot certification would be a requirement. The new trainees reported to Houston i...

2-NASA_Group_1_and_2_Astronauts_Photo_With_Autopens

2-Back row- See, McDivitt, Lovell, White, & Stafford. Front row- Conrad, Borman, Armstrong, & Young

1- Project_Mercury_AstronautsBack row- Shepard, Grissom, Cooper; front row- Schirra, Slayton, Glenn, Carpenter.

Posted on August 5, 2015

With Group 4, for the first time, the selection criteria did not include a requirement for test pilot proficiency. Selectees who were not qualified pilots would be assigned to the Air Force for a year of flight training. The primary scientific requir...

Group4Astronaut

4-Group 4 L-R- Garriott, Gibson. Front row, L-R- Michel, Schmitt, Kerwin.

3-Astronaut_Group_Three_-_GPN-2000-001476

Posted on August 13, 2015

“Some of those guys came in figuring, “I’ll write my textbooks and my thesis and teach [university courses] and I’ll come by twice a week and be an astronaut.” Well, that didn’t work …. We were devoting our lives to this whole thing, and you couldn’t...

5-Back row, from L-R- Swigert, Pogue, Evans, Weitz, Irwin, Carr, Roosa, Worden, Mattingly, Lousma. Front row, from L-R- Givens, Mitchell, Duke, Lind, Haise, Engle, Brand, Bull, McCandless

Posted on November 5, 2015

What went wrong?  Even years after the investigators began to sift through the wreckage of Apollo 1 piece by piece, no one could say exactly.  But within weeks the general picture became clear:  The fire was a disaster waiting to happen.

Deputy Administrator Seamans, Administrator Webb, Manned Space Flight Administrator George E. Mueller, and Apollo Program Director Phillips testify before a Senate hearing on the Apollo accident

2-Apollo1Langley

1-Apollo1 Inve

Posted on November 12, 2015

Posted on December 20, 2024

For the first time, the Soviet Union publicly announced the crew assignments for a Soyuz mission before the flight. Previously, cosmonaut identities were kept secret until after their flights.

P1-ac

P3-Rest stop during trip from Star City to Moscow provides crewmen with a chance for a snowball fight November 1973

P2- ASTPmockat 73Paris

Posted on January 10, 2025

The American astronauts acknowledged the necessity of enhancing their Russian language proficiency. They observed that their Russian counterparts, had demonstrated a remarkable commitment to learning English, dedicating 6 to 8 hours each day to indiv...

P2-Spacecraft Simulators at Star City

P1-Interior view of environmental control system

P3-Docking systems installed on a simulator

Posted on January 24, 2025

Soyuz 16 served as a comprehensive rehearsal for the Soviet contribution to Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP).

P1-soyuz16Crew

 ÓÒÏÓ̇‚Ú ÕËÍÓÎ‡È –Û͇‚˯ÌËÍÓ‚

P2-Anatoli Filipchenko

Posted on February 7, 2025

The origin of the Soviet’s concern, regarding the potential impact of the Apollo Command Module’s Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters on the Soyuz spacecraft during docking maneuvers, can be traced back to a Skylab film.

P1-maxresdefault

P2-Apollo Mission Sim

P3-ASTP transfer graphic Encylopedia Astronica

Posted on February 21, 2025

Eight cosmonauts arrived in Washington, D.C. on February 7th, 1975 to start their final training session in the U.S. as the technical specialists argued whether the spacecraft was ready or not.

P1-Disney World

P3-ASTP Soyuz spacecraft are being readied for the joint mission

P2-Alexei Leonov enters the Apollo command module being readied for ASTP

Posted on March 28, 2025

Reports from Baykonur indicated that the weather was perfect for the launch: clear skies, light winds, and hot July sunshine.

P3-ASTP

p1-LeonovKubasov

P2-Soyuz launch

Posted on April 11, 2025

CapCom Truly radioed at 10:46 with the go-ahead: “I’ve got two messages for you: Moscow is go for docking; Houston is go for docking. It’s up to you guys. Have fun.”

P3-AI Generated Image of Apollo Soyuz docke

P2-Improperly installed connector on the docking latch

P1-separated from the s-ivb

Posted on April 25, 2025

On July 17, 1975, orbiting in space high above the French city of Metz, the American and Russian commanders shook hands. Their conversation, a mix of personal and technical remarks, reflected a casual familiarity, reminiscent of their simulator train...

P2-friendship

P3-handshake

P1-Apollo-Soyuz-handshake

Posted on May 9, 2025

“I had thoughts I couldn’t express at the time. It felt like we weren’t just opening a hatch in space, but opening the door to a new era on Earth.”  Tom Stafford.

P2-A-S-Eclipse

P3-AS second docking

P1-Eclipse

Posted on May 23, 2025

Celebrations erupted in Mission Control, with broad smiles and cigar smoke marking the successful conclusion. But, while Mission control was celebrating, it was not yet known that the crew had been exposed to toxic fumes during descent. The crew was ...

P2-Cosmonauts Leonov and Kubasov (speaking) are interviewed by Soviet newsmen shortly after their safe landing in Kazakhstan.

P1-Kubasov autographs the side of the Soyuz descent vehicle

Posted on June 6, 2025

Due to the deterioration of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union in the late 1970s, no follow-on missions to ASTP took place. A backup Apollo spacecraft and Saturn IB rocket were available and there were some discussions of possib...

P3-crewmembers pose with the Apollo Command Module from their mission

P2-President Ford at the White House during the tour of the United States

P1-Stafford, Leonov, Brand, Kubasov, and Slayton in Moscow during the tour of the Soviet Union