The rocketry and space research in Germany has a long tradition. Such names as Hermann Oberth and Wernher von Braun or V2-rocket speak for themselves. After the division of Germany in 1945 the exploration of the outer space followed different paths in West and East Germany: the FRG started participating in the international space research in the 60th, after the foundation of ELDO (European Launcher Development Organisation) and ESRO (Eropean Space Research Organisation), both 1962, whereas the GDR played an important role for the soviet cosmic research from the outset. German scientists had been working in the USSR till 1953, later the East-German Academy of Sciences and other industrial and scientific organisations dissipated different equipment pieces for soviet missions in outer space. Sigmund Jaehn's flight was the apogee of the German-Soviet cooperation after he stayed 6 days on the space station Soyuz 6 in 1978.

This cooperation was accompanied by both states by the public interest and fascination. Numerous fictional and popular-scientific publications about the space in general, the soviet space research and cosmonauts in particular appeared in East German publishing houses and media. They have been characterised by the influence of the soviet politics, furthemore the government of the GDR controlled this sector of literary production. The analysis of this kind of literature provides an insight into the culture and everyday life of the GDR-cititzens. On the basis of Juergen Link's (analysis of interdiskourse and collective symbols) and Siegfried Jaeger's (critical discourse analysis) theoretical work based on Michel Foucault's discourse analysis, the thesis should be examined, in what way the space research had an impact on the literature of the GDR and what role the soviet literature played in this process.