The launch was all over the German national news. Footage playing across every major outlet. The rocket carrying the command module into space, past the exosphere and through eventual re-entry.
And it wasn't just German news outlets. All around the world, a single message broke headlines: Germany puts men into space!
For a world that had always dreamed of slipping past the bounds of the Earth, and yet had only ever dreamt it was possible within the confines of fiction, this was the most exciting news since the war came to an end.
Footage of a German warship fishing the command module out of the sea after it crashed down into the ocean from the heavens above, and the men being safely and securely dragged onto the deck was replaying everywhere.
Schools were talking about the achievement; people were discussing it in their homes, at cafes, and at gyms.
