Cooperation in space: The Soviet space program and international science, 1957-1972

Soviet scientists launched the world's first artificial satellite during the International Geophysical Year. The first sputnik gave rise to extensive debate about the integration of national space projects into international programs. Scientists and administrators abroad believed that their Soviet colleagues maintained a veil of secrecy over their research and used the satellite launch for geopolitical purposes. The foreign scientific community largely disregarded Soviet attempts to provide information about the satellite and to break through the isolationism of the Stalin years. Western scientists perceived the Soviet space program as competitive, secretive, and driven by Cold War diplomacy. This pattern of missed and misread signals continued throughout the first fifteen years of the space age, and the perceptions of Western scientists have colored most Western historiography ever since.;This dissertation uses Soviet sources to offer a different interpretation. Based on newspapers and journals, memoirs, meeting notes, correspondence, and other sources, this work suggests that the early years of the space program were characterized by consistent Soviet attempts at cooperation. In addition, this work treats space science as influenced heavily by domestic political and social trends such as the effects of the Stalin years and the reform period, Communist Party politics, and bureaucratization.;From the earliest years, Soviet scientists cooperated in international science projects, but their efforts were tempered by caution, especially as they met with little recognition from the international scientific community. Administrators and scientists sometimes hesitated to adopt extensive cooperative policies because of the lingering effects of the Stalin years, fearing political retribution especially in case of technical failures. The constant reorganizations of the Khrushchev years added to the atmosphere of uncertainty and caution.;Gradually scientists established firm political support for their international work, particularly as the Brezhnev government focused on creating political stability. In 1967 the Academy of Sciences formed an international space science bureau called Intercosmos. Over the course of the first space decade, Soviet scientists and administrators took a leading role in international science, culminating in bilateral agreements with the United States in 1972 for the joint docking of Soviet and American spaceships.