NASA TM X-58173/International cooperation was the keynote of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. In the 3 y ears since the project was initiated in the U.S. — U .S .S .R. Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space (signed by the U.S. and U.S.S .R. Heads of State on May 24, 1972), the great effort expended in coordination, communication, and integration culminated in the highly successful flight from July 15 to 24, 1975. The 9-day flight marked the first time that manned spacecraft of two nations have met in space for joint engineering and scientific investigations .
The principal objective of the project was to develop a compatible docking system and rendezvous and crew transfer procedures that might be appropriate for future international manned space missions. This objective was successfully accomplished.
