Problems and methods in researching high-energy particles outside the atmosphere

The paper discusses problems in researching primary cosmic rays in the energy range up to $\approx10^{15}$ eV. Methods are surveyed, and some results are presented that have been obtained with the Proton and Intercosmos-6 satellites and from research on the chemical composition of the nuclear component in the range E > l TeV with the Cosmos-1543 satellite.