Les satellites et l'espace

An illustrated popular-science album for young readers, part of the "Albert Ducrocq raconte" series. Across twenty-six question-and-answer double-page spreads, the book explains what a satellite is, how it is placed in orbit, stabilised and recovered, then surveys the uses of satellites: telecommunications and the geostationary orbit, Earth observation and photography, maritime navigation, space astronomy, military applications, and manufacturing in weightlessness. It also covers orbital mechanics (apogee, perigee, orbital period), the magnetosphere, the astronaut's profession, collision hazards and space law. Lavishly illustrated with photographs (NASA, CNES, ESA, USSR Academy of Sciences) and diagrams, it captures the state of space activity in the early 1980s (Ariane, the Columbia shuttle, Salyut stations, Landsat and Marecs satellites).