A simple handshake in orbit transformed the space race

In parallel, both nations' reputations were tarnished abroad, the Soviet Union by its invasion of Czechoslovakia, and America by its involvement in the Vietnam War.

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"They needed to lift themselves up and cooperate with each other to show the rest of the world: We are as super and as great as ever before. We're doing things which no country can do in a similar capacity," said Olga Krasnyak, an associate professor of international relations at the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow. "How do we communicate with people who speak entirely different languages, and who think differently about engineering and problem-solving?" Brian C. Odom, NASA's chief historian, said. The sudden switch from enemies to partners, at least in this limited case, caused whiplash for the public and politicians alike. Both sides were suspicious of the safety of the other's flagship spacecraft. The three astronauts selected for Apollo 1 perished in a fire during a rehearsal in 1967, while the three cosmonauts of Soyuz 11 died in space in 1971 when their cabin depressurized. As the mission planners navigated headaches, a deep and abiding friendship flourished between the astronauts and cosmonauts.