At a company party, held by the Max-Planck-Institute for Radioastronomy at the site, first concerns regarding the preservation and restoration of the radiotelescope Stockert were raised. At this point in time, the observatory had, akin to sleeping beauty, been stuck in a limbo of disutility and was supposed to simply be “disposed of” in some way or another. There were even talks of potentially demolishing the facility entirely.

After extensive preparations, several like-minded residents of Bad Münstereifel held a meeting on the 11th of October 1995 during which this association was established. In total, over 70 individuals were listed in the attendacne record of which another 50 officially joined the association as founding members.

On the 24th of February 1996, the Astropeiler Stockert e.V. was registered into the roster of associations at the municipal court Euskirchen under the number 987. The association was simultaneously recognized as a non-profit organization with the tax ID 209/5723/021.

Over time the name of the association was changed to Astropeiler Stockert e.V. as which it is known until today.