New Orleans (LPH 11) - Naval Cruise Book

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AST P began years before the actual mission with negotiations between NASA scientists and Soviet Space Agency personnel. As early as 1962, plans were in the making for the first in-space docking of two space capsules which occurred thirteen years later. AST P was formally provided for in the U.S.fU.S.S.R. Agreement Concerning Coopera- tion in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space signed by President Richard Nixon and Soviet Chairman Aleksey Kosygin in Moscow 24 May 1972. Liftoff for both spacecraft was 15 July 1975. The Russian Soyuz lifted off first from Central Asia at 8:30 AM QEDTJ, followed seven and a half hours later by the American Apollo from the Kennedy Space Center. Apollo met with Soyuz on 17 July and dock- ing took place approximately 12:12 PM CEDTJ, in space above Germany. During two days of docked operations, the crews visited each other's spacecraft in four different transfers through the docking module, performed joint scientific ex- periments and shared meals. The two spacecraft separated at 11:01 AM CEDTJ, 19 July. Soyuz de-orbited at 6:06 AM CEDTD and landed in the Soviet recovery area 21 July, approximately forty-two hours later. Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron SiX was embarked in NEW ORLEANS as the Primary helicopter support squadron for the miS- sion. HS-67S mission was two fold. Primarily, HS' 6 was responsible for dropping the swimmerS from Underwater Demolition Teams Eleven and Twelve in the water near the command module, Performing radio relay services and transporting camera crews to the scene. ml

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AST P After nine long days in space the American crew of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Brigadier General Thomas P. Stafford, Mr. Vance D. Brand and Mr. Donald K. Slayton, slowly make their descent into the Pacific Ocean, 24 July, 380 miles west of Hawaii. Calm seas and gentle winds belie the tension and excitement as crewmembers, standing on the flight deck of NEW ORLEANS, watched the three huge orange parachutes, which suddenly appeared some three miles from the ship. The command module slowly descended into the Pacific for a splashdown local time of 11:18. As the main chutes collapsed on impact, the first joint American- Soviet space mission comes to a close.

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. .2 Secondarily, HS-6 helicopters would recover the com- mand module by hoisting it from the water and setting it on NEW ORLEANS' flight deck if weather conditions precluded an alongside recovery by NEW ORLEANS or an emergency situation existed within the command module. Four swimmers from Underwater Demolition Teams Eleven and Twelve were lowered by HS-6 and im- mediately went to work. Although the module landed in the stable 2 posi- tion, Cupside downj, three flotation balloons automatically inflated and righted the spacecraft. UDT's first task was to attach a flotation collar in order to smooth the ride of the three astronauts while they awaited recovery. Second, to attach a sea anchor slowing down the capsule's wind drift. Both of these precautions greatly aided the safe pick-up by NEW ORLEANS. As the swimmers attach the hoisting cable to the module NEW ORLEANS' recovery teams ready themselves for the lifting of the command module from the sea to the aircraft elevator with the B8z,A crane. The partially scorched, gold capsule was lowered a few feet off the aircraft elevator to allow removal of the flotation collar. After the collar was removed the module was lifted again to be set on a dolly built especially for the command module. With the command module finally in place on the NASA dolly, the crew of Apollo is ready to debark the cap- sule and step on the nearest thing to land: NEW ORLEANS. l ,ye N l l r 1 l L l I l V 1 l . E l