Buffenoir, Francois/Testé, Jean-Daniel Une Opération... Spatiale

Quand l'espace devient un atout militaire décisif

In the book, readers follow the story of a fictional but realistic military operation: every system, every mission concept, every space resource described actually exists. Alongside a special operations command, in the heart of embassies and even ministries, you will discover how space capabilities support the execution of operations, decision-making and the management of diplomatic crises. The book concludes with a strategic overview and ten concrete proposals to prevent a space conflict from becoming a reality. In the first part of the book, a captivating and realistic plot reveals how satellites, which are at the centre of geopolitical challenges, can both support ground forces and trigger diplomatic crises or even conflicts: "Northern Niger, 12 September 2032. At dawn, Captain Damestoguy waits for his special forces unit to be evacuated after a successful reconnaissance mission. But something is wrong. Errors in the GPS signals have hampered the mission, and Chinese paramilitaries operating a mysterious electronic system have been sighted. At the same time, the space command centre in Toulouse detects a malfunction in Eutelsat's ETL 5WB military satellite and suspicious activity from the Russian Luch OKO satellite. Are these events connected? Is this a targeted attack? And above all, are we in a position to respond with our space systems? This story takes us to the year 2032, to a world in which space has become an essential pillar of modern military operations. In the second part, the book examines the growing importance of space technology for military strategies, while explaining the basics of orbital mechanics, how launch vehicles and satellites work, and the dynamics of the major space powers. Finally, ten proposals are presented to prevent an escalation of tensions in space.