Nordwestdeutsche Gesellschaft für Weltraumforschung

From The Space Library

Post-war German astronautical group based in the city of Stade. Officially registered in the British zone on June 28, 1949 and headed by Hans K. Kaiser a rocket engineer who had worked at Peenemünde during the war.

The NWGfW, or Northwest German Society for Space Research, had Kaiser as president based in Brackwede; H.J. Rückert as vice-president based in Stade; R.J. Rudat, secretary based in Friedrichstadt; and Ing. G.E. Janzon, technical director based in Dortmund.

Publications included Benachrichtigungen der NWGfW (July 1948) and Vortragsreihe der NWGfW Folge Nr 1 (August 1949), Forschungsreihe NWGfW (a series of research reports) (December 1950 with an article by Krafft Ehricke titled Die Grundlagen des Interplanetaren Fluges-I) and Raketenflug (Rocket flight) a monthly publication.

By 1951 branches of the NWGfW were established in Bremen, Hannover and Hildesheim.