OTRAG

OTRAG
IndustryAlternative propulsion system for rockets
Founded1974 (1974) in Neu-Isenburg, West Germany
FounderLutz Kayser
Defunct1987
FateNationalized by Libya
Headquarters
Stuttgart
,
West Germany
Area served
West Germany, Zaire, Libya
Key people
Lutz Kayser
Kurt H. Debus
Frank Wukasch
Wolfgang Pilz
Wernher von Braun

OTRAG (German: Orbital Transport- und Raketen-Aktiengesellschaft,[1][2] or Orbital Transport and Rockets, Inc.), was a West German company based in Stuttgart, which in the late 1970s and early 1980s planned to develop an alternative propulsion system for rockets. OTRAG was the first commercial developer and producer of space launch vehicles. The OTRAG Rocket claimed to present an inexpensive alternative to existing launch systems through mass-production of Common Rocket Propulsion Units (CRPU).

  1. ^ Miller, Judith (September 12, 1981). "U.S. Uneasy Over Military Potential Of Commercially Produced Rockets". The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Schneiker, Conrad (February 1978). "OTRAG: Bold Pioneer Faces Hostile World" (PDF). L-5 News. Vol. 3, no. 2. L-5 Society. pp. 5–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022 – via National Space Society.