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The history of German space policy is also to a large extent
the history of European activities in space. Niklas Reinke's
book describes for the first time the concepts, the
influencing factors and the interdependencies that had an
impact on Germany's post-war programme in space.
The author describes very clearly why Germany had such
difficulty in establishing a coherent space policy, compared
for instance with France or other European countries, not to
mention the USA. There was the historical background with
Peenemünde, there was the political obligation of the
transatlantic partnership, and there was the drive for
European cooperation, in particular with France.
The book provides a fascinating in-depth look into the
different phases of space activities in Germany over the
years, and to a large extent also those in Europe, at the
personalities involved and at the numerous projects carried
out within the national programme or as bilateral
programmes with the US and France, or of course, through
European cooperation.
