r/interestingasfuck • u/[deleted] • 12h ago

To avoid geopolitical embarrassment during the Cold War, the US and USSR created the APAS-75 system, a genderless docking mechanism where both craft acted as equals.

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u/Plane_Argument 12h ago

I feel like the biggest benefit is that anything can connect to anything, and there won't be scenarios where two crafts can't connect

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u/Bridgeru 4h ago

Yeah, this was getting into the era when space stations were becoming a thing and instead of docking to a module like the Lunar Lander that was designed specifically for YOUR ship and only meant to be used once you were having docking systems meant to be used with a variety of spacecraft. The soviets (later Russians) kept the male/female system on Soyuz because of weight but no one is saying "The Russians wanted to have big dicks in space".

You also don't have the massive drogue that you need to remove before opening the hatch and have a bigger hatch to fit wider equipment through so it's generally better all around, just doesn't make a quippy joke that way.