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Germany mulls domestic spaceport

October 21, 2019

German industry wants the government to invest more in space research and development. That includes building a domestic spaceport.

https://p.dw.com/p/3Rc7V
German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Hoppe

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has signaled that the government will consider building a space launch center after German industries demanded more to investment in space research and development.

Read more: German companies want a private German spaceport

"Space travel excites many people and creates thousands of jobs. We are leaders in satellite technology. Therefore, I will examine the suggestion of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) for a spaceport," he told the mass-circulation Bild.

German industry has called for the space innovation budget to more than double from €285 million ($318 million) to a level on par with France at more than €700 million.

Spin-offs - Space technology in daily life

According to BDI, German is ranked eighth in the world for space investments, even though it has the fourth largest economy in the world.

"The strength of Germany as a high-tech location is not reflected in the state of space investment," BDI head Dieter Kempf said at a space congress in Berlin last week.

A domestic spaceport would allow Germany to launch satellites and participate in the commercialization of space, according to BDI.  

cw/rt (dpa)

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