Two Apollo Soyuz Manuals, One Signed by NASA's Chief Russian Instructor

A pair of NASA Apollo Soyuz Test Project manuals, one signed by NASA Russian Language Instructor, Anatole Forostenko. The first manual, measuring 8.5" x 11", was produced by the U.S. Government Printing Office on September 20, 1974. No. ASTP 20021, entitled "Apollo Soyuz Test Project: ASTP Acronyms and Abbreviations, the manual provides vital translations for the astronauts and cosmonauts. With two appendices - Appendix I: English to Russian (72pp) and Appendix II: Russian to English (48pp). Signed on the front cover at the lower right corner "Anatole Forostenko."

The second, measuring 8" x 10.25", No. NASA SP-412, is entitled "Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: Summary Science Report, Volume 1." Published in Washington, D.C. in 1977, Volume One is dedicated to Astronomy, Earth Atmosphere and Gravity Field, Life Sciences, and Materials Processing. Marked as a "Special fourth class mail book", vii, 581pp. The manual contains multiple diagrams, tables, charts, schematics, and both black and white and color photographs throughout. Both manuals have light edge toning and wear. The first has been stapled together. With a large, bold signature. The second has rubbing and minor scratching to the covers. Internal pages are lightly toned at the edges. Overall, very fine. Manuals such as these have become rare, both because so few of them were produced and because many were destroyed by the Soviet Space Program following the mission. Provenance: From the collection of Anatole Forostenko, Chief Russian Language Instructor-Interpreter for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission.

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was a joint U.S./Soviet space mission that launched in mid-July 1975. The joint mission, comprised of two Soviet cosmonauts (Commander Alexey Leonov and Flight Engineer Valeri Kubasov) and three American astronauts (Commander Thomas P. Stafford, Command Module Pilot Vance D. Brand, and Docking Module Pilot Donald "Deke" Slayton), entailed docking an Apollo spacecraft to the Soyuz 19. The mixed crew conducted several scientific experiments together, including blocking the Sun with one spacecraft while the other photographed the solar corona. The extremely successful mission would set the stage for future collaboration, including today's International Space Station.

Dr. Anatole Forostenko (b. 1939) was born in the Soviet Union and moved to the U.S. in 1949. He studied at Rutgers University and Indiana University before gaining his Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr. From 1970 to 1973, Forostenko was an Assistant Professor of Russian Language and Literature at the University of California. He then joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1974 and became involved in the Apollo-Soyuz test project. He became the Chief Russian Language Instructor for the NASA astronauts, preparing them to communicate with cosmonauts during the mission, and he worked closely with both crews as instructor-interpreter. Often, he worked in one-on-one situations with General Thomas P. Stafford and Vance Brand. During the Apollo-Soyuz mission, Forostenko served as one of three U.S. Air-to-Ground interpreters at the Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center. Upon completion of the mission, he traveled with the crew members and their families on the post-flight Soviet Good Will Tour and has remained in close contact with those involved.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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