American and Soviet crews were launched today in 1975 for the first handshakes in space between the two superpowers as part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The Soviet Soyuz with cosmonauts Aleksey Leonov and Valeriy Kubasov was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome about seven hours before the American Apollo-Saturn 1B with Tom Stafford, Vance Brand and Deke Slayton lifted off from Kennedy Space Center.
Mission Reports
Live coverage: Space station crew concludes 186 days in orbit
Mission Reports
Live coverage: Space station crew safely returns to Earth
The Russian Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft departed the International Space Station and landed in Kazakhstan Thursday, bringing home outgoing space station commander Luca Parmitano, Soyuz pilot Alexander Skvortsov, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who concluded a 328-day mission, the longest-ever spaceflight by a woman. The Soyuz undocked from the station at 0550 GMT (12:50 a.m. EST) Thursday, then landed on the Kazakh steppe at 0912 GMT (4:12 a.m. EST).
