The Explorers' Club, № MXLIII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 50th Anniversary of Soyuz 15
26-28 August 1974: Soyuz 15 lifted off from the Kazakh S.S.R.'s Baikonur Cosmodrome, with CDR Gennady Sarafanov & F.E. Lev Dyomin aboard a Soyuz 7K-T capsule atop a Soyuz rocket; call sign Dunay ("Danube"); they could not dock with the Saylut 3 space station because the Igla ("Needle") automatic docking system failed & there was no manual backup; the duo landed in the Kazakh S.S.R.

Commentary: After the failed docking, Soviet propaganda claimed Soyuz 15 had never intended to dock with Salyut 3, merely to practice docking manuevers & test an automatic docking system for the future Progress unmanned cargo spacecraft.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Soyuz 15
The Rocksteady Conspiracy, "Oh I Failed" from Rough & Sweet (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Oh, I failed,
But I am not a failure,
Should keep my self esteem,
Next time, it will go better…"

Semper exploro.