Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) Flown Command Module to Docking Module Umbilical Cord Directly from Chris Kraft

46 years ago today, the Soviet Soyuz and U.S. Apollo spacecraft launched for their historic hookup in space. With an androgenous docking mechanism (popularized in season two of For All Mankind), the docking module from the U.S. side connected with an alien spacecraft for the first time. Before the human handshake came the data handshake: this umbilical cord connected the Apollo Command Service Module (CSM) to our custom Docking Module (DM), much like the Apollo CSM to LM umbilical. Its first function was to power up the DM after initial docking in orbit to control the extraction from the SLA of the Saturn launch vehicle.

Stafford gave this flown artifact to Chris Kraft for his heroic contributions over the years in mission control, including Stafford’s Gemini missions. At the time of Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), he was MSC Director in charge of the astronaut office and chose Stafford as Commander of the last Apollo mission, “Apollo 18” as he called it.

A heavy-duty insulated cable, partially wrapped in Beta cloth, with a large multi-pin connector at each end, left side marked “P12/ DM”, the right “P27/ CSM”. This item was kept by Kraft in the west bookshelf of his office at home.

The project, and its memorable handshake in space, was a symbol of détente between the two superpowers. It is generally considered to mark the end of the Space Race, which had begun in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik.
According to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, “The Soviet and American spacemen will go up into outer space for the first major joint scientific experiment in the history of mankind. They know that from outer space our planet looks even more beautiful. It is big enough for us to live peacefully on it, but it is too small to be threatened by nuclear war”.

Part of the Future Ventures’ 🚀 Space Collection.