Anton Kudrov, Writer 

Sloan Grant(s) Received: 2019, Screenwriting Award, USC 

Project Type: Feature 

Genre: Drama 

Length: 108 pages 

Field of Science: Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering 

Stage: Development 

Synopsis 

The Handshake is the true story of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first and only space docking between the USA and the Soviet Union. The protagonists are the respective project managers, Konstantin Bushuyev of the Science Academy and Glynn Lunney of NASA. Their mission proves a technical and cultural challenge, with neither side having been prepared for this level of international cooperation. Eventually though, the two teams develop a true friendship that goes above the Iron Curtain and political views to complete their common, scientific goal. The complex and dangerous space docking, involving astronauts and cosmonauts from both sides, effectively ends the space race in the 20th century.