German space programme

The German space programme is the set of projects funded by the government of Germany for the exploration and use of outer space. The space programme is run by the German Aerospace Center, who conduct research, plan, and implement the programme on behalf of the German federal government.

History
While the idea of spaceflight had been explored by novels before, Hermann Oberth’s book Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen was influential in propagating the idea of space flight. The book eventually inspired the establishment of the Verein für Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel) in 1927, where amateur rocket scientists collaborated to advance the field of liquid-fueled rocketry. Between the 1930s and 1940s, Nazi Germany researched and built operational ballistic missiles capable of suborbital spaceflight.

Astronauts
As of 2018, eleven Germans have been in space. The first German, and only East German, in space was Sigmund Jähn in 1978. Three astronauts – Ulf Merbold, Reinhard Furrer and Ernst Messerschmid – represented West Germany during the time of divided Germany. Merbold made two other spaceflights after Germany was reunified in 1990. He is the only German to have been in space three times.

Thomas Reiter and Alexander Gerst are the only Germans to have made long-term spaceflights. The other five astronauts are Klaus-Dietrich Flade, Hans Schlegel, Ulrich Walter, Reinhold Ewald, and Gerhard Thiele.