What would we do today without the extraordinary platforms called "satellites", a word brought to us by the great astronomer Johannes Kepler in 1610, to qualify the celestial bodies gravitating in orbit around a planet? Once in orbit, so-called 'artificial' satellites with an array of extremely sophisticated instruments aboard make it possible to observe the Earth, communicate, explore the solar system or even the Universe, and test the validity of certain major laws of physics, such as gravity. Just thumb through the outstanding book called Satellites published by Editions Le Cherche Midi, and you'll realize the quantity and diversity of these objects used for exploring, transmitting as well as for studying the conditions of interstellar space, which have been launched and lofted into orbit a little over 51 years ago ever since Sputnik-1.
Aline Chabreuil and Philippe Chauvin, with support from CNES, CNRS and the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers (INSU, national institute of universe sciences), are the editors-in-chief of the book that has been prefaced by Axel Kahn, President of Paris-Descartes University. The well-documented and beautifully illustrated book will take the reader on a fascinating journey to some of the greatest programs and the most amazing space missions that have occurred over the past decade, or that are still ongoing. This is an opportunity for the public to discover a fantastic human adventure that France has largely contributed to since the early sixties. Connoisseurs will find some of the key milestones of satellite history.
The Spot family - surveyors of the Earth and Hipparcos surveyor of the stars - are mentioned. Cassini-Huygens, a mind-boggling French-American mission that showed us Titan, Saturn's biggest satellite, is in there, too. The early days of ocean monitoring with Topex-Poséidon and the continuation of this endeavor with the Jason family is recounted. The tale of Météosat and MetOp providing essential data for meteorology is also told. Just glance at some of the missions that will soon be launched, such as Goce that will measure the Earth's gravity, with unprecedented resolution and accuracy, or Microscope that will test the validity of the Equivalence Principle at 10-15! So hurry and fly into 'orbit' in the wake of all these satellites, aboard the pages of this wonderful book.
