"The Keldysh Era": the first "handshake" between the USSR and the USA in space. On the 50th anniversary of the Apollo - Soyuz Test Project.

In 2025, profound geopolitical changes began in the world and the restoration of full-scale diplomatic relations between Russia and the United States.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the first handshake in space of the Soviet and American crews of the Soyuz-Apollo, it is extremely IMPORTANT to remember Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh (10.02.1911-24.06.1978) - Academician and Leader in Applied Mathematics from the age of 35 (1946), Chief Theorist of Cosmonautics and Chief of Computers (1947-1978), Chief Mathematician of the country (1951-1978), creator and first director of the FIRST Institute of Applied Mathematics in the world (1953-1978), first Chairman of the Interdepartmental Scientific and Technical Council for Space Research at the USSR Academy of Sciences in the status of Minister and General (1959-1978), the best President of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1961-1975), organizer of Intercosmos (1966-1978), the only mathematician three times Hero of Socialist Labor (1956, 1961, 1971).

M.V. Keldysh played a key role in organizing international scientific cooperation in space and implementing the first Soviet-American space Program. The Americans officially called the mission the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) while the Soviets called it Experimental flight "Soyuz"–"Apollo" (EPAS). The docking and contact interaction of the Soyuz and Apollo are undoubtedly historical and were the prototype of the first international space station (ISS), the creation of which began in 1989. Since 1998, the ISS in Earth orbit has been the most expensive and ambitious project in the field of manned space exploration. It is necessary to remember EPAS - ASTP in order to appreciate the significant role of scientists and personally the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences M.V. Keldysh in reducing the tension in Soviet-American relations during the years of détente in the Cold War and to properly perceive the role of international scientific and technical cooperation in space projects at the present time.

The first Soviet-American EPAS Program was prepared and implemented on the initiative and with the active participation of Academician M.V. Keldysh on the USSR side, and on the US side – NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), an agency belonging to the US government and engaged in aviation, space and astrophysical research.

Within the framework of the EPAS, a scientific program was carried out related to the research of the impact of the Vietnam War on the environment and climate, where, in addition to "carpet bombing" with the widespread use of napalm, which burned tens of hectares of land, scenarios of "climate" and "ecological" warfare were tested. On April 30, 1975, the US Army ceased military operations. The war was over, but the scientific program was continued in a joint flight in July 1975 – the consequences of the 1955-1975 war were assessed. The author of the report took part in the EPOS project together with the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory – a research institution in Georgia, founded in 1932 as the first high-altitude astrophysical observatory in the USSR. Aerosol and gas pollution of the atmosphere and their transboundary transfer were studied. For the first time, panoramic images of the stratosphere of the atmosphere with a length of about 30 thousand km were carried out taking into account the polarization of radiation.