Memorandum from Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to President Gerald Ford, Regarding a Meeting with Soviet Cosmonauts Involved in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

LIMITED OFFICIAL USE 2 The Apollo-Soyuz - Test Project, set in the May 1972 US-USSR Agreement on Space Cooperation signed at the Summit meeting in Moscow, is an experimental flight scheduled for July 1975 to test compatible rendezvous and docking systems which are being developed for future US and USSR manned spacecraft. The mission plan calls for Apollo rendezvous and docking with the Soyuz and two days of joint activities, including experiments in space science and applications. The benefits of the mission include contributions to a rescue capability for future manned space flights and broadened opportunities for US and USSR space cooperation in the years ahead. B. Participants: Ambassador Dobrynin, NASA Deputy Administrator George M. Low, Major General Vladimir A. Shatalov (Commander R. of Cosmonaut Training), the Soviet crew (Colonel Aleksey A. Leonov, Valeriy N. Kubasov), the US crew (Brigadier General Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand, Donald K. Slayton), and Henry A. Kissinger. C. Press Arrangements: Press photo session. Meeting to be announced. III. TALKING POINTS 1. Your joint flight next year, fulfilling an objective set in the 1972 Agreement on Space Cooperation, will mark an important step forward in US-Soviet relations. Additionally, the flight has significance for all who believe that different countries can contribute to a better world by working together on projects that broaden human knowledge and extend man's capacity to cope with his environment. 2. A principal purpose of your flight is to increase the safety of manned flights in space. We are thus looking forward to the day when US and Soviet manned spacecraft can rendezvous, dock, and transfer crew members. 3. The joint flight will also help pave the way to joint space activities in the future which will help both our countries gain more insights into the utility of space than they could from separate programs. LIMITED OFFICIAL USE