Lesson plan

OTRAG

The OTRAG rocket was a West German modular satellite-delivery rocket developed by the OTRAG company ( , or ) in the 1970s and 80s. The OTRAG rocket was to become a rocket built up from several mass-produced units, intended to carry satellites with a weight of 1-10 tons or more into orbit. Mass production meant that the vehicle was projected to have been 10x cheaper than conventional vehicles of similar capability. OTRAG was based in Stuttgart, and 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 rocket was claimed to be an inexpensive alternative to existing launch systems through mass-production of Common Rocket Propulsion Units (CRPU).

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Article summary

The OTRAG rocket was a West German modular satellite-delivery rocket developed by the OTRAG company ( , or ) in the 1970s and 80s. The OTRAG rocket was to become a rocket built up from several mass-produced units, intended to carry satellites with a weight of 1-10 tons or more into orbit. Mass production meant that the vehicle was projected to have been 10x cheaper than conventional vehicles of similar capability. OTRAG was based in Stuttgart, and 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 rocket was claimed to be an inexpensive alternative to existing launch systems through mass-production of Common Rocket Propulsion Units (CRPU).

Key claims

  1. date of foundation: 1974-10-17 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of foundation is "1974-10-17". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.