Dragon Apollo Soyuz Test-Project

[GordonD]

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

1/72 Dragon Models

The Mission

The International Space Station has been continuously occupied since 2 November 2000, usually by joint American-Russian crews, with the occasional astronaut from Europe or Japan. For five years prior to that, shuttles docked with the Mir space station on a regular basis. It's hard to remember a time when the American and Russian/Soviet space programmes were competing, not co-operating. Yet that was the position for the first twenty years of the Space Age, and when a joint US-Soviet mission was flown in July 1975 it was seen as something extraordinary.

What became known as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project began in May 1972 with the signing of an agreement by President Nixon and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin. The Americans initially suggested that an Apollo spacecraft visit a Salyut space station, but this was immediately rejected by the Soviets amd after some discussion a 'bare bones' mission was selected, in which an Apollo and Soyuz would link up.

Even this was not as straightforward as it seems. Though both spacecraft used a 'probe and drogue' docking system, they were of completely different designs and one would not fit the other. Additionally, there was the subtle point that the craft equipped with the probe might be seen as the dominant partner, and this was supposed to be a mission of equals. A new docking mechanism was designed in which either spacecraft could take the active role, and the Apollo end was attached to a specially-built Docking Module. This component was necessary because of the different atmospheric compositions: Soyuz used normal air at sea-level pressure, while Apollo used pure oxygen at 5psi. It would not be possible for an astronaut to move directly between the two spacecraft, so the Docking Module would act as an airlock.

The mission began on 15 July 1975 with the launch of Soyuz 19, shown live on TV for the first time. In command was Alexei Leonov, the first man to walk in space: he was accompanied by Valeri Kubasov. Seven and a half hours later the Apollo was launched by a Saturn IB. (Though some sources refer to it as 'Apollo 18', it actually had no official number.) Its commander was Tom Stafford, veteran of two Gemini flights as well as Apollo 10, the dress-rehearsal for the first lunar landing. His crew consisted of Vance Brand and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, who was one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts but never flew because he was medically grounded due to a heart murmur. Finally restored to flight status, he was at last getting the chance to fly in space.

The much-anticipated docking took place two days after launch, and Stafford and Slayton moved into the Docking Module. Once atmospheric pressure had been equalised, the hatches were opened and the historic handshake took place. The two craft remained docked for 44 hours before separating, with each crewman visiting the other craft at least once. Soyuz landed safely on 21 July while Apollo remained in orbit for a further three days. The flight achieved relatively little of scientific value, but the political implications were huge. Even so, it was nearly twenty years before the two nations' manned space programmes would again meet up - but this time it would be permanent.

The Model

Having been impressed by the quality of Dragon's other recent spacecraft kits I was expecting good things from this one and I wasn't disappointed.

Command Module plus the top and bottom of the Service Module and the engine bell

(Top) Most of these parts are not used as they would be hidden when the model is complete.

However the sprue does carry parts for the High Gain antenna and external handrails for the Command Module.

(Bottom) Attitude thrusters for the Service Module

The Service Module. The odd breakdown of parts is because Dragon issued a cutaway version.

Photoetched dishes for the High Gain Antenna

The Apollo sprues are the same as those in the 'Lunar Approach' kit. There are four of them, making an accurate replica of the real spacecraft. The important thing for us space geeks is that unlike virtually every previous Apollo kit, this one is of the Block II version: that is, the one which actually flew. The kits that came out at the time of the missions were based on the prototype, and the radiator panel detail of the Service Module was completely wrong. As a finishing touch, there are four photo-etched mesh discs representing the dishes of the High Gain Antenna.

The only downside is that there is no interior to the Command Module, and no window openings are moulded. No doubt some aftermarket interior parts will eventually appear, but for now it's scratch-build or do without.

Decal sheet - note the 5p coin for scale!

Also the stickers for the Soyuz solar panels

As for the decal sheet, you get everything, and I mean everything. All of the pre-launch maintenance stencils are included, even though at this scale some of them are the size of a pencil point. Once they're in place it's hard to even see them against the aluminium-coloured backing, but at least you'll know that they're there...

The Soyuz, with the Docking Module in the centre. The long thin part is a cable trunk. (This sprue is in vinyl.)

Remaining parts for the Soyuz, plus the docking mechanism.

The Soyuz comes on two sprues, one of which has just four parts (three for the spacecraft itself and one for the Docking Module) and this has been produced in vinyl. The reason for this is unclear but the surface detail is excellent: all the folds and wrinkles of the thermal blankets which covered the craft have been reproduced beautifully. The box says that the Docking Module comes prepainted, but mine wasn't: I don't know if this was an oversight or if only the first production run has this feature.

The other sprue is in conventional styrene and has the solar panels, the various antennae and all the parts for the docking mechanism. Unfortunately the instruction sheet could have been clearer here - while the construction of the Apollo is shown in the standard exploded diagram format, you only get a small photo of the Soyuz with arrows indicating vaguely where the solar panels and antenna should be attached. For the docking mechanism you will have to plan and check very carefully where everything fits, though the painting on the box lid will help.

One nice touch is that Dragon have supplied a sheet of self-adhesive stickers to represent the solar cells. These are hologram-style, in metallic blue, and when they catch the light they look quite spectacular.

Dragon's standard spacecraft stand - plastic base, metal support, with fixing screws

Conclusion

This kit is a must for anybody interested in space modelling. The only previous model of this subject from a mainstream company was Revell's 1/96 effort which, while acceptable, had numerous faults (not least with the Apollo being the prototype version.) Even built straight from the box, this will build up into an impressive replica of the mission that was the beginning of the end of the Space Race.

Highly recommended.

Edited July 29, 2015 by GordonD

[jetboy]

Hi gordonD,good presentation and its just sold me,just ordered it,would have liked it in 48 though,will they do it in this scale do you think?. cheers DonG

[GordonD]

Hi gordonD,good presentation and its just sold me,just ordered it,would have liked it in 48 though,will they do it in this scale do you think?. cheers DonG

Thank you - my first attempt at a review!

The Apollo CSM already exists in 1/48 so all they would have to do is scale up the Soyuz parts. Not an impossible dream...

[Eric Mc]

Have you built this since this in-box preview? I've just ordered one of these. It would be nice to make one ion the 40th anniversary year of the mission.

[GordonD]

Yes, I did build it - thread is here .

And to mark the 40th anniversary there's a build article in the new Airfix Model World.