The Reason This Space Docking Module Was Androgynous

Adam Savage visits Smithsonian’s @airandspace Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar to examine a piece of Cold War space history: the APAS-75 (Androgynous Peripheral Assembly System) from the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). As Apollo curator Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony and conservator Elizabeth Beesley explain, this module -- designed during the Cold War -- served as a universal airlock and docking interface that not only bridged two different spacecraft, but two radically different engineering philosophies as well. From contrasting U.S. and Soviet machining styles to bilingual Russian/English cockpit labeling to the conservation challenges of deteriorating insulation, join Adam for an inside look at the hardware that made history's most famous handshake in space possible. What do you think of the "androgynous" solution? National Air and Space Museum: https://airandspace.si.edu/ Visit the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar Hazy Center: https://www.si.edu/museums/air-and-space-museum-udvar-hazy-center Visit the National Air and Space Museum's downtown museum: https://airandspace.si.edu/ Smithsonian Institution: https://www.si.edu/ More on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: https://www.nasa.gov/apollo-soyuz-test-project/ Preserving WWII’s Most Battle-Damaged Bomber: https://youtu.be/9BNKu8WBO8M Adam Savage Visits National Air and Space Museum's Restoration Hangar: https://youtu.be/WFSnf0MSAFc More videos from Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c0BsBCx4Sw&list=PLJtitKU0CAeiJ7tjkIqcrRPfIYZHPW643 Subscribe for more videos (and click the bell for notifications): http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=testedcom Join this channel to support Tested and get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiDJtJKMICpb9B1qf7qjEOA/join Tested and Adam Savage Ts, stickers, (de) merit badges and more: https://adamsavage.com/ About Tested: https://www.tested.com/about Meet Adam in Person: https://www.tested.com/events Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/testedcom/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/testedcom TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@testedcom Discord: https://www.discord.gg/tested Amazon Storefront: http://www.amazon.com/shop/adamsavagestested Audio Described and Accessible Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJtitKU0CAeiQLgj4PZ9onSW6YXIz5ADR Chapters: 00:00 - Androgynous Solution 00:41 - Apollo-Soyuz Docking Module (APAS-75) 01:13 - Space Race Diplomacy 02:20 - Two Engineering Philosophies in One Artifact 03:13 - Androgynous Docking 04:25 - Self-Aligning Guide Fins 05:51 - Atmosphere vs Pressure Mismatch 06:48 - History of the Flight-Spare Artifact 07:31 - Preparing the Spacecraft for a National Museum Loan 09:20 - Space Diplomacy 14:32 - Assessing Condition 16:38 - Insulation and UV Degradation 18:57 - Bilingual Cyrillic and English Cockpit Controls 20:33 - Airlock Module and Storage Lockers 22:10 - Materials Analysis 23:55 - Aluminum Pressure Vessel 24:55 - Modern Spacecraft Conservation Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman Thanks for watching!