On May 16, 1959, the first mail-rockets were launched in the area of Cuxhaven. These rockets carried 5000 postcards over a distance of 3 km. The letters transported with these rockets received special stamps which are nowadays greatly coveted by philatelists. The mail-rocket launches were also used to finance the rocket experiments. Read more
On May 7, 1964, during a rocket demonstration by Gerhard Zucker in Braunlage, a deadly accident occurred as one of his mail rockets exploded shortly after its launch and debris fell into the crowd of spectators, who had been allowed too close to the launch pad. Although Gerhard Zucker was not a collaborator with either HOG or BSFEG, all rocket launches with flight altitudes of over 100 meters were forbidden in the area of Cuxhaven after this accident. Read more