"The Encyclopedia of Soviet Spacecraft" Signed by Three Apollo Soyuz Crewmembers

A signed copy of "The Encyclopedia of Soviet Spacecraft" by Douglas Hart. New York: Exeter Books, 1987. Quarto, 192pp. Signed and inscribed on the front free endpaper by Valeri Kubasov, Thomas P. Stafford, and Alexei Leonov, dated July 28, 1990. With color photographs and images, tables, and diagrams throughout. Black paper-bound boards with silver titling at the spine. With the original dustjacket. Sound binding with bold signatures. Wear and small tears to the dust jacket with minor paper loss. Overall very good. 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 Alexei 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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