The reactions ranged from ridicule to justified doubts: The proposal of the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) for a German spaceport has caused a stir. Now BDI President Dieter Kempf has defended the considerations. "Some people have smiled at the initiative, but it's no joke: satellite and space technology is a key technology for the entire industry," Kempf told the Editorial Network Germany (RND). "We are just starting to guess the potential."
"I want Germany to keep up front with this technology," said Kempf. In the future, satellites could play a decisive role in autonomous driving, mobile communications or forest firefighting. He was not concerned with a launcher for moon rockets. "I'm talking about so-called micro-launcher, the small satellite just-in-time can transport into space," said Kempf. "We do not want to launch Ariane rockets from Berlin's Friedrichstrasse."
A small spaceport would make economic sense for Germany. "We'll need it, I'm sure of that," said the BDI President.
Economics Minister Peter Altmaier had openly shown for the advance. According to "Handelsblatt", the state government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has been checking for months whether the Rostock-Laage airport is eligible for this. The suitability of the Bundeswehr airfield Nordholz in Lower Saxony will also be examined.
Whether Germany as a location for a spaceport ever comes into question, however, is controversial. Typically, less-populated locations are preferred that provide good conditions for launch into equatorial or polar orbits. So the space professor Ulrich Walter explained in the discussion with the SPIEGEL, which plant in this country would be in question at all.
