…the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project began:
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For nine days, the world observed "detente in orbit" between East and West. Three American Apollo astronauts and two Soviet Soyuz cosmonauts linked up as a show of good will amongst humanity through shared scientific experiments and exchanges of culture. It would pave the way to the eventual cooperation between former Cold War adversaries aboard the Russian Mir space station (via NASA's Space Shuttle) and the International Space Station (ISS).
On a personal note, as a "space nerd", this was one of the most exciting missions I was blessed to witness and experience as it happened! Unfortunately, I fell ill during the event – nothing too major, but my body reacted to the accumulated fumes from using paint and glue in an unventilated space when I was assembling plastic models, a hobby I had begun a little over a year earlier. I soon recovered, and I eventually bought plastic models again, but it would be a little while before I used paint and glue again – in a well-ventilated area.
One of the models I later bought was this one:
Of the five space voyagers from that historic event, astronaut and Major Vance D. Brand (USMCR, retired), the Apollo command module pilot and veteran of three Space Shuttle missions, survives.
Мир (Mir). Peace.
