[alexgmcm]

It worked quite well at first - I mean they had Sputnik, Gagarin etc. not bad for a country that was some backwards serfdom just half a century before.

But then they lost their ambition - a major point being when they stopped trying to develop their own computing technology and just reverse engineered IBM chips instead.

[hutzlibu]

"But then they lost their ambition"

I rather say, it has to do with economic realities: there was a joke in eastern germany something like:

we got no toilet paper, but a cosmonaut, hurey.

edit:

"Keine Bretter für die Laube

Für das Auto keine Schraube

Für das Klo kein Papier

Aber Kosmonauten haben wir"

non rhyming translation:

"No wood for the hut

no screw for the car

no paper for the toilet

but a cosmonaut we got"

[ZeroGravitas]

Weird parallel with this American Song:

"A rat done bit my sister Nell. (with Whitey on the moon) Her face and arms began to swell. (and Whitey's on the moon) I can't pay no doctor bill. (but Whitey's on the moon) Ten years from now I'll be payin' still. (while Whitey's on the moon) The man jus' upped my rent las' night. ('cause Whitey's on the moon) No hot water, no toilets, no lights. (but Whitey's on the moon)

-- Gil Scott Heron

[hutzlibu]

Probably not so surprising: those who struggle with their bare existence, are not so thrilled with money shot into space, compared to the better off.

[a9h74j]

(but Bezos on the moon)

[orlovs]

Nah, they run out of German engineers + without futher commercialization of science there is no way forward. There is many good concepts, but almost none got out research phase.