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.