Tom Stafford Signed Copy of "The Partnership", Inscribed to Russian Instructor

A signed copy of "The Partnership: A History of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project" by Edward Clinton Ezell and Linda Neuman Ezell. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978. Part of the NASA History Series, No. NASA SP-4209. Octavo, xx, 560pp including biographical references and an index. Signed and inscribed on the half-title page: "To Dr. Anatole Forostenko with my very best wishes to my professor and dear friend, who helped to make this mission possible. General Tom Stafford Commander Apollo." Blue paper wraps, with photographs, charts, tables, and diagrams throughout. Multiple color photographs at the back. The volume has lightly worn covers with some creasing. Cracked binding with sunning to the spine. Large and bold signature by Stafford. Very good overall. 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. Stafford (b. 1930) is one of 24 people who has flown to the Moon and has logged 507 hours of space travel. From 1969 to 1971 he served as Chief of the Astronaut Office.

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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