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Date of Issue - July 15, 1975
Place of Issue - Kennedy Space Center, Florida



The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project marked many firsts, including the first internationally manned mission, the first rendezvous between two manned spacecraft and the first time Americans and Russians floated into each others' spacecraft.

ASTP was part of an agreement signed by U.S. President Nixon and Soviet Union Premier Kosygin on May 24, 1972. The mission allowed astronauts to test the new U.S. docking module and opened the door for future internationally manned missions and possible international space rescues.

Existing Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft were used. The Apollo 18 spacecraft was nearly identical to the one that orbited the moon and later delivered astronauts to the Skylab space station. The Soyuz spacecraft has been the primary Soviet space vehicle for manned spaceflight since it was introduced in 1967.

NASA designed the docking module to serve as an airlock and corridor between the two spacecraft.

Soyuz 19 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 15, 1975 carrying cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov. Apollo 18 launched seven and a half hours later using a Saturn IVB launch vehicle. It took off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. carrying astronauts Tom Stafford, Deke Slayton and Vance Brand.

United States Space Stamps