  
In May, 1972, the Soviet Premier, Aleksei Nikolaevich Kosygin, and the President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon signed an agreement to perform a joint space mission between the two countries. The agreement set July 17, 1975 as the target launch date. On July 16, 1975, the Apollo spacecraft had set out to chase and to overtake the Soyuz spacecraft. By the morning of the 17th, Slayton attempted to make radio contact with the Soyuz crew. At 8:05 am, the Soyuz crew responded to the attempt. In accordance with the early agreements, astronaut Slayton spoke in Russian and cosmonaut Kubasov responded in English. At 10:46 am, Apollo was given the go signal to dock. Because the Apollo spacecraft was more maneuverable, the Soyuz remained stationary while the Apollo docked with it. It was at 11:10 a.m. Houston time that Stafford called out, "Contact." On July 17, 1975, the Apollo crew opened the hatch that led to the Soyuz module. The commanders then shook hands. A short time later they exchanged gifts and other symbolic items. Between "bear hugs," fruit-juice toasts and dinner parties among the stars, the two crews conducted 27 scientific and medical experiments, 5 of which were conducted jointly. During the docking period, there were four separate exchanges of crew members.
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AMERICAN ASTRONAUT STAFFORD AND RUSSIAN
COSMONAUT KUBASOV MEETING ABOARD THE SOYUZ 3.
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