SpaceX's Crew Dragon, consisting of Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico today about 2:48PM EDT! The last time NASA had a mission splashdown was in 1975 when Tom Stafford, Vance Brand and Deke Slayton returned from the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
Bob and Doug spent 62 days aboard the International Space Station participating in Expedition 63. Behnken conducted four EVAs with fellow astronaut Chris Cassidy during the mission.
On what would be the last mission of NASA's Apollo program, "Apollo 18" (the unofficial designation) was launched July 15, 1975 for the first joint space mission between the United States and the Soviet Union. Its crew consisted of Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald "Deke" Slayton.
On the other side of the world, Soyuz 19 launched with cosmonauts Alexey Leonov and Valeri Kubasov the same day. The mission was called the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
When the ships docked, the crews exchanged the first international handshake in space. They also conducted experiments, exchanged flags and gifts, ate together and signed certificates. After 44 hours together, the ships separated and went their separate ways.
The cosmonauts stayed in space for two more days, returning to Earth July 21. The astronauts stayed five extra days and returned to Earth July 24.
Vance D. Brand, born May 9, 1931 in Longmont, Colorado, is a former NASA astronaut, who flew on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and three Space Shuttle missions.
In July 1975, he was Command Module Pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project with Tom Stafford and Deke Slayton, the first joint mission between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
In November 1982, he served as Commander aboard Columbia (STS-5), the first mission to deploy satellites.
His third trip into space was Commander aboard Challenger (STS-41-B) in February 1984. which featured the first untethered spacewalk by Bruce McCandless.
His fourth and final mission was aboard Columbia (STS-35) in December 1990. At the time he was the oldest person to go into space at 59.
Donald "Deke" Slayton, born March 1, 1924 in Sparta Wisconsin, flew on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in July 1975. NASA selected him as one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts and was scheduled to pilot the second manned orbital spaceflight in 1962 but did not due to atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm.
After getting medical clearance in March 1972, he was assigned as the docking module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first joint U.S.-Soviet space flight, with Tom Stafford and Vance Brand. They joined cosmonauts Alexey Leonov and Valeri Kubasov on board the Soyuz craft.
Slayton did not fly in space again but became head of NASA's Approach and Landing Test for the space shuttle program. He retired from NASA in 1980.
He passed away in June 1993 from a malignant brain tumor.
Thomas "Tom" Stafford, born September 17, 1930 in Weatherford, Oklahoma, is an astronaut who has flown in two Gemini missions, Apollo 10 and an Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland before being accepted by NASA to be an astronaut September 17, 1962.
What a birthday present!
In December 1965, he piloted Gemini VI which performed the first rendezvous in space with Wally Schirra. Less than six months later, he commanded Gemini IX with Eugene Cernan in June 1966.
He commanded Apollo 10 in May 1969 with Eugene Cernan and John Young to the moon. It was considered a 'dry run' for the first lunar landing.
In 1975, he commanded the Apollo spaceship with Vance Brand and Deke Slayton the first rendezvous with the Soviet Soyuz, a milestone in space history.
In the early 1970's while tensions between Washington, DC and the Kremlin ran high, a small group of scientists from both country worked toward a collusion...er, a collaboration....perhaps a joint space mission(?) for the space programs of both countries could meet in space.
A cooperative mission was first proposed by NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine and the Soviet Academy of Sciences president Mstislav Keldysh accepted. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was not universally considered a good idea, with many Americans feeling the ASTP would give the USSR to much access and help them get a step up.
The crew of the Apollo spacecraft was Commander Thomas P. Stafford (from Oklahoma!), Command Module Pilot Vance D. Brand (Colorado) and Docking Module Pilot Donald K. (Deke) Slayton (Wisconsin). The Soyuz 19 crew consisted of Commander Alexey Leonov and Flight Engineer Valeri Kubasov.
Both spacecraft launched July 15, 1975 within hours of each other and docked on July 17. The historic handshake between American and Soviet crews too place over Metz, France. The astronauts and cosmonauts spoke in each other's languages, but because Stafford had a pronounced drawl when speaking Russian, Leonov joed that the languages spoken during the mission were Russian, English and "Oklahomski."
The ships separated after 44 hours and went their separate ways. The Soviets stayed in space for five days while the Americans remained for nine. Soyuz 19 returned to Earth on July 21. Apollo returned on July 24, an error occured and the crew was exposed to toxic nitrogen tetroxide fumes. Brand lost consciousness but Stafford managed to get emergency oxygen masks on him and Brand and gave one to Slayton. They were hospitalized for two weeks in Oahu (!) but made full recoveries.
