From Spacecraft Docking to API Hacking: Integration Lessons Across 50 Years

50 years ago, during the height of the cold war, the USA and Soviet Union decided to do the impossible - a joint spaceflight where two spacecraft, developed independently by each of the superpowers, would link up into a single space station while circling the Earth. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was, by far, the most complex integration project ever attempted - both technologically and politically. Modern software development is done in the cloud and not in space, but there are many parallels and lessons to be learned from ASTP, especially since one of the biggest challenges in development is integrating disparate components, whether through run time interfaces and messaging or through code dependencies. This session will take historical examples from the 1975 American-Soviet space project and use them to showcase good practices in 2025 development.

Speakers