Collaboration in Space and the Search for Peace on Earth by Andrew L. Jenks (review).

Abstract

Reviewed by: Collaboration in Space and the Search for Peace on Earth by Andrew L. Jenks Darina Volf (bio) Collaboration in Space and the Search for Peace on Earth By Andrew L. Jenks. London: Anthem Press, 2021. Pp. 180. The birth and advancement of space technology at the height of the Cold War might explain why the history of the first four decades of physical exploration of outer space is usually told as a story driven by competition and national interest, in which there was hardly any place for transnational and collaborative efforts. Andrew Jenks's Collaboration in Space and the Search for Peace on Earth challenges the dominance of the competitive paradigm in the history of early spaceflight and turns our attention to international collaboration in space. This alone makes the book a long overdue and important contribution to Cold War space history. What is more, Jenks's analysis does not end in the deeps of outer space but returns to Earth in order to shed light on political and societal implications resulting from the internationalization of efforts in space. The introduction focuses on the tension between the ideal of science and technology that is by its very nature transnational and collaborative, and the reality of political limitations to knowledge flows and technology transfers motivated by national interest. As becomes clear, this tension was particularly manifest in the realm of space technology and space exploration, which were perceived as both an instrument of national power and a universal task transcending national boundaries. The latter idea gained importance in the 1970s, which Jenks argues led to a new era of space collaboration introduced by the Soviet-American joint flight and docking experiment known as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The initial two chapters explain the general shift toward space collaboration in the 1970s. Jenks identifies ideas that inspired a more collaborative approach to space exploration, as well as political and societal developments that were central in facilitating rapprochement, negotiations, and the subsequent agreement on the ASTP between the two space powers. Moreover, the ASTP is embedded into a broader context of transnational utopias and visions of global peace associated with exploration of outer space, and Jenks discusses its role in creating an alternative to the images of mutual destruction and in working against Cold War anxieties. But the following reflections also demonstrate the limits of collaborative efforts in space, which often fell victim to bureaucratic and political hurdles. The third chapter of the book shifts the perspective from the origins and legacies of the ASTP to the actual work on the compatible rendezvous and docking mechanism developed in preparation for the joint mission. Here, Jenks presents a fascinating story linking the technological innovation process with its political and symbolic functions. Based on the belief [End Page 885] that technological fixes can also address political and societal problems, the androgynous docking mechanism was loaded with meanings beyond the realm of technology. It became a symbol of cooperation, hybridity, and peaceful coexistence of different systems. The fourth chapter looks closely at the two partners cooperating in the ASTP and suggests the rather surprising conclusion that, over the course of the changes that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union reversed their roles regarding openness and secrecy. From the 1960s on, the Soviet Union started to gradually open its initially secretive space program toward partners from abroad, while in the U.S. space program—which was for a long time perceived as open and transparent—fears of technology transfer reinforced the regime of secrecy and hindered international cooperation, especially during the Reagan administration. The conclusion elaborates on the legacy of the ASTP and persuasively argues that the ASTP was more than an expensive handshake in space. Overall, the book is well written and thoroughly researched. Occasionally Jenks seems to overemphasize the extent of Soviet openness and cooperativeness, which might appear enormous given the previous degree of secrecy in the Soviet space program, but which still had considerable limits. The internal Soviet opposition against every step toward greater openness and the refusal to provide the United States with any information going beyond the scope of the ASTP are...