Les Pionniers de l'espace

Set during the 9th International Astronautical Congress in Amsterdam in August 1957, this documentary novel follows French journalist Jacques Lauriol as he gathers testimonies from international scientists on the conquest of space. It traces the history of the great pioneers (Tsiolkovsky, Goddard, Esnault-Pelterie, Oberth) then covers military rocket programmes (V-1/V-2), high-altitude balloon flights (Operation Man High, 1957), Laika's first space journey, and ground-based spatial simulation experiments. The book concludes with a chronology from 1923 to 1959.