Mon dossier Spoutnik

Published in 1958 by Éditions France-Empire, Mon dossier Spoutnik is a documented account by a French author of Russian origin who, drawing on multiple visits to the USSR and direct access to Soviet scientific sources, traces the history of Russian astronautics from Tsiolkovsky to the first two Sputniks. The book covers the Soviet pioneers (Tzander, Kondratyuk), worldwide reactions to the October 1957 launch, the technical specifications of the satellites and their orbital mechanics, as well as the biological experiments including the dog Laika. It concludes with projections on Soviet near-future objectives, notably a mission to the Moon.