Letters and Telegrams Written Between Kennedy and Khrushchev

Click the following links to read selections of Kennedy's and Khrushchev's correspondence regarding a joint space effort.

First Message Regarding a Joint Space Effort

Further Letters and Telegrams Mentioning a Joint Space Effort

First Telegram to Indicate a Serious Persuit of a Joint Space Effort

Letter from Kennedy with Specific Propositions for Joint Space Efforts

Khrushchev's Reply to Kennedy's Propositions

The results of this correspondence are summarized on the page about the events leading up to the Apollo Soyuz Test Project. However, this correspondence did not quickly lead to any significant space cooperation between the two countries. This was because, in the summer of 1962, Soviet freighters, with what appeared to be military cargo, were reported by the CIA to be en route for Cuba. Political pressure was placed on Kennedy to react forcefully, which caused him to feel more competition regarding space.

Back to "The Developments of the Space Race during the Kennedy Administration"
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