Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 12. April 2021 / Time Line April 12, 2021
Version 3.011. April 2021, 13. April 2021
04/12/2021
Washington, D.C., April 12, 2021 – Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s historic spaceflight 60 years ago,
which made him the first human in space, prompted President John F. Kennedy to advance an unusual
proposal – that the two superpowers combine forces to cooperate in space. In a congratulatory letter to
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, posted today by the nongovernmental National Security Archive, Kennedy
expressed the hope that “our nations [can] work together” in the “continuing quest for knowledge of outer
space.”
Kennedy’s letter is one of many records in the American and Russian archives that show that the two
ideological rivals have not only engaged in a space race but have also cooperated for decades. In fact, as
the ongoing joint activities involving the International Space Station demonstrate, space has been one of the
few spheres of collaboration that have survived the trials and tensions of the Cold War, keeping both
countries engaged in constructive competition as well as in joint efforts to expand human frontiers.
Today’s posting begins a two-part series exploring this often-overlooked chapter in the relationship between
the United States and the Soviet Union, and later Russia. The materials in the first tranche cover events from
Gagarin’s flight to the celebrated Apollo-Soyuz mission. The second posting in early May will deal with the
post-Cold War period.
 |
 |