The Site of the world's first Private Space Program was in the Central African Republic of Zaire!

It's a little known fact that there was once a time when a central african country, known today as the Democratic Republic of the Congo or #Congo DRC was a testing and launching site for rockets meant to carry satellites and humans into space. In fact the Congo, then the republic of #Zaire was the site of the world's very first private space program.

It was Lutz Kayser, a gifted engineer from Germany that along with a handful of scientists, established in 1975 the first private space enterprise called #ORTAG. (Orbital Transport Und Raketen Aktiengesellschaft)

ORTAG managed to attract several investors and the stage was set for a rocket test launch. However what the company wanted was a site where they could test launch rockets that could carry satellites into space.

A chance meeting with a German businessman involved with the organization of the famous 1974 'Rumble in the Jungle' boxing match between Mohammed Ali en George Foreman in Zaire set the ball rolling. The businessman sugested that Zaire could be the ideal site for ORTAG's testing and launching facilities.

The then President of Zaire: Mobutu Sese seko was a huge fan of ORTAG and saw immense opertunities for Zaire functioning as a launching site for the German rockets. and so a contract was signed on December 1975 for the use of 100.000 square killometers of land in the Katanga province.

After 18 Months of work the Rocket was ready and on may 17, 1977 ORTAG launched it's first rocket over the skies of Zaire. the launch went like a dream and could not be more successful. However things started going wrong for ORTAG soon thereafter. The world started taking note of Zaire ambitious Space exploits and both the USA and the USSR where afraid that Mobutu could start making rockets of his own, which could threaten their own interests.

They also started viewing Zaire as a fast emerging military treath in space. And so the world's first private space program was discontinued in April of 1979 under pressure of both superpowers... But not before ORTAG would launch 2 more rockets, one of which (Failed) in front of then President Mobutu and the international press.

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