German rocket pioneers. Klaus Riedel (1907-1944, white coat) and other members of the German spaceflight society (Verein fur Raumschiffahrt, VfR) at their testing ground in Berlin in 1932. The VfR was active from 1927 to 1933, and included many of the engineers pioneering rocketry and spaceflight research. In 1930, the VfR purchased a plot of land at Berlin-Tegel airfield, and called it their Raketenflugplatz (rocket airfield). Over the next three years they tested rockets here, ranging from the unsuccessful Mirak rockets to the successful Repulsor rockets. The Repulsor rockets attained altitudes of over 1 kilometre.