Les satellites artificiels

Charles-Noël Martin
Year1958
PublisherPresses Universitaires de France
PlaceParis
LanguageFR
Pages127
SeriesQue sais-je ?, n° 813
Rating★★★☆☆ (3/5)
AudienceGeneral, Student
LevelBeginner
Keywords
space physicsartificial satelliteProject Vanguardspace raceInternational Geophysical YearProject ExplorerSputnik Programme
ThemesSpace Race

Les satellites artificiels by Charles-Noël Martin is a Que sais-je? pocket volume published in late 1958, one year after the launch of Sputnik I. In three parts (theoretical foundations, a history of launches, and a synthesis of results with a prospective outlook) the book explains orbital mechanics, details the technical specifications of the first Soviet (Sputnik I, II, III) and American (Explorer I, III, IV; Vanguard) spacecraft, and synthesizes the first geophysical, ionospheric, and biological data collected. An accurate first-year snapshot of the Space Age (October 1957–October 1958).

📖 Editorial Review

Published barely one year after the launch of Sputnik I, this volume in the Que sais-je? series captures the spatial revolution of 1957–1958 in real time. Charles-Noël Martin, a nuclear physicist and seasoned science writer, offers a rigorous, carefully documented synthesis of the first seven satellites (Soviet and …