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Expertise - Society

History of Spaceflight

Behind rockets, satellites and space missions are people, institutions and political decisions. We investigate the historical circumstances that shaped the development of spaceflight, with a particular focus on the Lake Constance region.

Technology Doesn't Develop in a Vacuum

Technological progress always takes place within a broader context. The history of spaceflight examines who developed rockets, satellites and scientific missions, what resources they used, who commissioned their work and what consequences followed. This reveals how technological innovations emerged and which historical circumstances shaped their development.

More Than the History of Technology

We study the history of spaceflight from more than a purely technological perspective. Our research also examines the political, military, economic and social conditions that influenced its development. This includes the role of science and technology under National Socialism and the changes that followed after 1945.

Heeresprüfstelle Raderach

A military testing facility near Friedrichshafen where components of the V-2 rocket were tested from late 1943 onwards. Prisoners of war and other prisoners were forced to work on its construction. Air raids largely destroyed the facility in August 1944.

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Erich Regener

A physicist and pioneer of upper-atmosphere research. In 1938, he founded the Research Centre for Stratospheric Physics in Friedrichshafen, which later developed into a Max Planck Institute.

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To understand the future, we must be willing to look to the past.

Historical research also helps people working in the space sector understand the history of their own field and learn from past mistakes.

 

More From the Society Department

Historical research does more than document the past. It helps us better understand the structures, dependencies and decisions that continue to shape space exploration today.

Space Policy Security, regulation and technological sovereignty in space. Discover the department
Space & Culture Space exploration in literature, film, art and popular culture. Discover the department
Science Communication Making space science and exploration accessible and understandable. Discover the department

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