Leningrad - Space Rocket History Podcast

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 possibly flying an Apollo to a Soviet Salyut space station, but with no government support, Soviet-American space cooperation for many years remained limited.

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

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

Crewmembers pose with the Apollo Command Module from their mission.

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Vostok 5’s orbit turned out to be lower than the expected 181 by 235 km. The actual orbit was 175 by 222 km. Initial calculations indicated the orbit of Vostok 5 would not decay for 10 or 11 days, however more conservative estimates, taking into account the increased solar activity and the resulting expanding of the upper atmosphere showed that the orbit could decay after only 8 days. With no way of predicting where Vostok 5 might land, the planned eight-day mission was now in question…