Pilotes de l'espace

The second volume in Willy Ley's "Adventures in Space" series, Space Pilots opens with a speculative fiction sequence (the first orbital flight of a three-stage spacecraft, LX-49, carrying a seven-man crew into orbit from the "Centre astronautique Christophe Colomb") before addressing the concrete realities of preparing space crews: pilot selection criteria, zero-g training (parabolic flight, centrifuge), claustrophobia testing in sealed chambers, high-altitude flight, and the physiological effects of acceleration. Subsequent chapters examine the dangers of space travel (cosmic rays and meteorites) drawing on empirical data available in 1957–1958 (stratospheric balloons, animal experiments, Laika). The book closes with a prospective section on future civilian applications (rapid intercontinental transport, relay satellites) and a signed author's note situating the volume within the series.