1975 Space Activities

A comprehensive diary of activity in the Soviet and Russian Space Programme. This page brings together diary entries from all sections of the Zarya Web Site.

Date & Time (GMT)

Event

1975 Jan 10

21:43

Soyuz 17 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 185 x 249 kilometre orbit with Aleksei Gubarev and Georgi Grechko aboard

1975 Jan 12

01:25

Soyuz 17 docks with Salyut 4 - orbit is 336 x 349 kilometres

1975 Jan 12

-

The crew enters Salyut 4 and find a note left inside by the space station's preparation team - it says "Wipe Your Feet!"

1975 Feb 9

06:08

Soyuz 17 undocks with Gubarev and Grechko aboard - Salyut 4's orbit is 334 x 346 kilometres

1975 Feb 9

11:03

Soyuz 17 lands - 100 kilometres north-east of Tselinograd

1975 Mar 22

-

Salyut 4's orbit has decayed to 330 x 340 kilometres, it is raised to 337x 350 kilometres

1975 Apr 1

-

Salyut 4's orbit is adjusted to 339 x 351 kilometres ready for rendezvous with the upcoming Soyuz 18

1975 Apr 2

-

Owing to the effects of the lunar gravitational field, Luna 22's orbit around the Moon is now 200 x 1409 kilometres at 21 degrees inclination

1975 Apr 5

11:02

Soyuz 18-1 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket with Vasily Lazarev and Oleg Makarov aboard

1975 Apr 5

11:07

Separation between the second and third stages of the Soyuz rocket fails - the third stage engine fires however, and the crew is forced to use the Soyuz propulsion system to pull away from it

1975 Apr 5

11:23

Soyuz 18-1 lands almost 1,600 km from the launch site, near the town of Gorno-Altaisk close to the Chinese border, and possibly inside China itself - the crew is safe

1975 May 14

-

Salyut 4's orbit has decayed to 330 x 351 kilometres, it is raised to 344 x 353 kilometres ready for rendezvous with the second attempt at the Soyuz 18 mission

1975 May 24

14:58

Soyuz 18 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 186 x 230 kilometre orbit with Pyotr Klimuk and Vitali Sevastyanov aboard

1975 May 25

21:30

Soyuz 18 docks with Salyut 4 - orbit is 338 x 349 kilometres

1975 Jul 15

12:20

Soyuz 19 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 191 x 218 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination with Alexei Leonov and Valeri Kubasov aboard (for the first time ever, two unrelated space missions are being controlled simultaneously as cosmonauts Klimuk and Sevastyanov work aboard Salyut 4)

1975 Jul 15

19:50

Apollo (ASTP) launched from the Kennedy Space Center by Saturn 1B rocket (SA-210) into 153 x 166 kilometre orbit with Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald Slayton aboard

1975 Jul 15

21:04

Apollo separates from the upper stage of the Saturn 1B and starts the manoeuvre aimed at docking with the ASTP Docking Module - it then pulls the module away from the rocket and Apollo is ready for the docking with Soyuz 19

1975 Jul 15

-

Atmospheric pressure inside Soyuz 19 is now 10.4 psi/540 mm, rather than the 'normal' 14.7 psi/760 mm

1975 Jul 15

23:10

Apollo crew reports the presence of a mosquito in the cabin - it subsequently disappears and is assumed to have died

1975 Jul 17

-

Soyuz 19's internal pressure is reduced to 9.7 psi/500 mm

1975 Jul 17

08:05

Direct radio contact established between Apollo and Soyuz 19

1975 Jul 17

16:09

Soyuz 19 and Apollo dock together after Soyuz 19 acts as a 'passive' target for Apollo

1975 Jul 17

16:12

Hard-dock and latching between the two spacecraft is achieved - orbit is 217 x 231 kilometres

1975 Jul 17

16:26

Astronauts Stafford and Slayton enter the Docking Module, close the hatches between the Module and Apollo, and raise the atmospheric pressure from 5.0 psi/255 mm to 9.5 psi/490 mm by introducing nitrogen

1975 Jul 17

18:00

Crews of Salyut 4 and Soyuz 19 exchange greetings as they pass within radio range of each other

1975 Jul 17

19:10

Soyuz 19 crew opens the hatch at the forward end of the orbital module

1975 Jul 17

19:17

After pressures have been equalised at 9.9 psi/510 mm, astronaut Stafford opens the hatch at the Soyuz end of the Docking Module - the way into Soyuz 19's orbital module is now clear

1975 Jul 17

19:19

Astronaut Stafford and cosmonaut Leonov shake hands inside the Docking Module

1975 Jul 17

22:47

The crews part and then close the hatches between the Docking Module and Soyuz 19, pressure in the Docking Module is reduced to 5.0 psi/260 mm and then Stafford and Slayton return to Apollo's command module

1975 Jul 18

09:15

Stafford and Brand enter the Docking Module, close the hatches between the Module and Apollo, and raise the atmospheric pressure

1975 Jul 18

10:00

The hatches into Soyuz are opened after pressures are equalised - Leonov enters the Docking Module and Brand transfers into Soyuz to join Kubasov

1975 Jul 18

11:00

The hatches to Apollo are opened after the pressure in the Docking Module has been reduced - Leonov and Stafford join Slayton in Apollo

1975 Jul 18

15:45

Stafford and Leonov enter the Docking Module, close the hatches between the Module and Apollo, and raise the atmospheric pressure

1975 Jul 18

16:01

The hatches into Soyuz are opened after pressures are equalised, Brand and Kubasov then change places with Leonov and Stafford

1975 Jul 18

16:30

The hatches to Soyuz are closed and the pressure in the Docking Module is then reduced to allow the hatches into Apollo to be opened - Brand and Kubasov join Slayton in Apollo

1975 Jul 18

17:30

Both crews take part in an international press conference

1975 Jul 18

19:50

Slayton and Kubasov enter the Docking Module, close the hatches between the Module and Apollo, and raise the atmospheric pressure

1975 Jul 18

20:20

The hatches into Soyuz are opened after pressures are equalised, then Slayton and Kubasov Join Leonov and Stafford in Soyuz

1975 Jul 18

20:49

Stafford and Leonov shake hands

1975 Jul 18

21:00

The hatches to Soyuz are closed after Stafford and Slayton enter the Docking Module - joint activities between the two crews are finished - they then reduce the pressure in the Docking Module

1975 Jul 18

21:35

Stafford and Slayton enter Apollo and close the remaining hatches

1975 Jul 19

-

Atmospheric pressure inside Soyuz 19 is back to the 'normal' 14.7 psi/760 mm

1975 Jul 19

12:12

Soyuz 19 and Apollo undock and move away from each other - Apollo is between Soyuz 19 and the Sun, creating a solar eclipse for observation by the Soyuz 19 crew

1975 Jul 19

12:33

Soyuz 19 and Apollo dock together in orbit for a second time - this time Apollo is the passive target

1975 Jul 19

12:40

Hard-dock and latching between the two spacecraft is achieved, but Apollo has to give unplanned assistance by firing its thrusters at the last moment

1975 Jul 19

15:26

Soyuz 19 and Apollo undock again

1975 Jul 19

18:42

Apollo fires its Reaction Control System thrusters and moves away

1975 Jul 21

10:10

Soyuz 19 fires its manoeuvring engine to initiate re-entry

1975 Jul 21

10:51

Soyuz 19 lands - 90 kilometres north east of Arkalyk

1975 Jul 24

-

The crew begins mothballing Salyut 4 in preparation for their departure

1975 Jul 24

-

Crew of Apollo stows unwanted materials in the Docking Module

1975 Jul 24

19:41

Apollo releases the Docking Module

1975 Jul 24

20:37

Apollo fires its Service Propulsion System to initiate re-entry

1975 Jul 24

21:18

Apollo splashes down - 430 kilometres west of Hawaii, it is hoisted aboard the aircraft carrier USS New Orleans with the crew inside

1975 Jul 25

-

Salyut 4's orbit is adjusted using Soyuz 18's propulsion system - it has decayed to 335 x 344 kilometres - the rocket motor firings raise it to 342 x 361 kilometres

1975 Jul 26

10:56

Soyuz 18 undocks with Klimuk and Sevatyanov aboard - Salyut 4's orbit is 342 x 361 kilometres

1975 Jul 26

14:18

Soyuz 18 lands - 56 kilometres south-west of Arkalyk

1975 Aug 2

-

Apollo-Soyuz Docking Module enters the Earth's atmosphere as a result of natural decay of the orbit through air drag and is destroyed by frictional heating

1975 Aug 24

-

Owing to the effects of the lunar gravitational field, Luna 22's orbit around the Moon is now 30 x 1578 kilometres at 21 degrees inclination

1975 Sep 2

-

After firing its onboard rocket engine for a final time, Luna 22's orbit around the Moon is now 100 x 1286 kilometres at 21 degrees inclination - all propellant is now exhausted

1975 Nov 4

-

Salyut 4's orbit has decayed to 332 x 348 kilometres, it is raised to 344 x 353 kilometres

1975 Nov 17

14:38

Soyuz 20 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 177 x 251 kilometre orbit - it has no crew aboard but carries a cargo of biological specimens including turtles and plants - experiments are to performed in parallel with the Cosmos 782 biological satellite on a three-week mission

1975 Nov 19

16:19

Soyuz 20 docks with Salyut 4 - orbit is 342 x 350 kilometres