German Aerospace Center

German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich

DLR has approximately 10.000 employees at 30 locations in Germany. Institutes and facilities are spread over 13 sites, as well as offices in Brussels, Paris and Washington, D.C. DLR has a budget of €1 billion to cover its own research, development and operations. Approximately 49% of this sum comes from competitively allocated third-party funds (German: Drittmittel). In addition to this, DLR administers around €860 million in German funds for the European Space Agency (ESA). In its capacity as project management agency, it manages €1.279 billion in research on behalf of German federal ministries. DLR is a full member of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems and a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.

In the context of DLR's initiatives to promote young research talent, ten DLR School Labs were set up at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg, RWTH Aachen, Technische Universität Dresden and in Berlin-Adlershof, Braunschweig, Bremen, Cologne-Porz, Dortmund, Göttingen, Lampoldshausen/Stuttgart, Neustrelitz, and Oberpfaffenhofen over the past years.[3] In the DLR School Labs, pupils can become acquainted with the practical aspects of natural and engineering sciences by conducting interesting experiments.

The members of the DLR executive board are Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla (chairman) since August 2015, Klaus Hamacher (vice chairman) since April 2006, Karsten Lemmer (member for Energy and Transport) since March 2017 and Walter Pelzer since 2021.

The modern DLR was created in 1997, but was the culmination of over half a dozen space, aerospace, and research institutes from across the 20th century.

The oldest predecessor organization of DLR was established by Ludwig Prandtl in Göttingen in 1907. This Modellversuchsanstalt der Motorluftschiff-Studiengesellschaft (MLStG; German for "Institute for Testing of Aerodynamic Models of the Powered Airship Society") later became the Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt ("Aerodynamics Laboratory" or "Aerodynamic Experimental Station").

In the 1920s Max Valier, a student of rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth, co-founded the Verein für Raumschiffahrt, VfR, or "Association of Space-Flight", with Johannes Winkler and Willy Ley. In parallel he was acting in collaboration with Fritz von Opel as one of the heads of Opel RAK, a private venture leading to the first manned rocket cars and rocket planes which paved the way for the Nazi era V2 program and US and Soviet activities from 1950 onwards. The Opel RAK program and the spectacular public demonstrations of ground and air vehicles drew large crowds, as well as caused global public excitement, and had a large impact on later spaceflight pioneers.

The Great Depression put an end to the program and briefly after its break-up, Valier eventually was killed while experimenting as part of VfR activities in collaboration with Heylandt-Werke on liquid-fueled rockets in April 1930. He is considered the first fatality of the early space age. Valier's protégé Arthur Rudolph went on to develop an improved and safer version of Valier's engine. Valier and von Opel had engaged in a program that led directly to use of jet-assisted takeoff for heavily laden aircraft. Their experiments had also a tremendous influence on Alexander Lippisch, whose experience with the rocket-powered Ente ("Duck") eventually paved the way to the Messerschmitt Me-163, the first operational rocket fighter craft.

The private experiments of the late 1920s and early 1930s excited also the interest of the German military, which provided funding for further development of rockets as a replacement for artillery. This led to an array of military applications, among them Germany's V-2 terror weapon, the world's first ballistic missile, and also the first human-made object to surpass the Kármán line and thus leaving the earth's atmosphere.

In the 1940s, the DVL (an AVA sister organization) funded Konrad Zuse's work on the Z3 and Z4 computers. Another German aviation technology research facility, the 1935-founded, top-secret Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt at Völkenrode which conducted research – much of it for military aviation to suit the Luftwaffe's needs – in parallel to the then-existing forerunners of the DLR of today, would not be discovered by the Allies until after the war's end.

In 1947, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Weltraumfahrt ("Consortium on Space Flight") was formed, leading to the Gesellschaft für Weltraumforschung (GfW; "Society for Space Research") being formed in 1948.[4]

In 1954, the Research Institute of Jet Propulsion Physics (FPS) was established at the Stuttgart airport.[5]

What was later called the DLR was formed in 1969 as the Deutsche Forschungs- und Versuchsanstalt für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DFVLR; "German Test and Research Institute for Aviation and Space Flight") through the merger of several institutions. These were the Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt (AVA), the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (DVL; "German Laboratory for Aviation"), the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Luftfahrt (DFL; "German Research Institute for Aviation") and (in 1972) the Gesellschaft für Weltraumforschung (GfW; "Society for Space Research").

In 1989, the DFVLR was renamed Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR; "German Research Institute for Aviation and Space Flight"). Also in 1989, the Deutsche Agentur für Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA; "German Agency for Space Flight Affairs") was created.[4]

Following the merger with the Deutsche Agentur für Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA; German for "German Agency for Space Flight Affairs") on 1 October 1997, the name was changed to Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), literally "German Center for Aviation and Space Flight". The shorter translation "German Aerospace Center" is used in English-language publications.

Other German space organizations include the Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme (IRS; Institute for Space Systems), founded in 1970.[6] This should not be confused with DLR's Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme located in Bremen.[7] Also, significant contributions are made to the European Space Agency.

The DLR Institute of Flight Systems operates this helicopter as part of the Flying Helicopter Simulator (FHS)

DLR's mission comprises the exploration of the Earth and the solar system, as well as research aimed at protecting the environment and developing environmentally compatible technologies, and at promoting mobility, communication and security. DLR's research portfolio, which covers the four focus areas Aeronautics, Space, Transportation and Energy, ranges from basic research to innovative applications. DLR operates large-scale research centres, both for the benefit of its own projects and as a service for its clients and partners from the worlds of business and science.

The objective of DLR's aeronautics research is to strengthen the competitive advantage of the national and European aeronautical industry and aviation sector, and to meet political and social demands – for instance with regard to climate-friendly aviation. German space research activities range from experiments under conditions of weightlessness to the exploration of other planets and environmental monitoring from space. In addition to these activities, DLR performs tasks of public authority pertaining to the planning and implementation of the German space programme, in its capacity as the official space agency of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The DLR's Project Management Agency (German: Projektträger im DLR) has also been entrusted with tasks of public authority pertaining to the administration of subsidies. In the field of energy research, DLR is working on highly efficient, low-CO₂ power generation technologies based on gas turbines and fuel cells, on solar thermal power generation, and on the efficient use of heat, including cogeneration based on fossil and renewable energy sources. The topics covered by DLR's transportation research are maintaining mobility, protecting the environment and saving resources, and improving transportation safety.

In addition to the already existing projects Mars Express, global navigation satellite system Galileo, and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, the Institute of Space Systems (German: Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme) was founded in Bremen in January 2007. In the future, 80 scientists and engineers will be doing research into topics such as space mission concepts, satellite development and propulsion technology.

Mars Express

Martian volcano Ceraunius Tholus in perspective by the HRSC aboard Mars Express

The High Resolution Stereo Camera HRSC is the most important German contribution to the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission. It is the first digital stereo camera that also generates multispectral data and that has a very high resolution lens. The camera records images of the Martian surface which formed the basis for a large number of scientific studies. With the HRSC, which was developed at the German Aerospace Center's Institute of Planetary Research (German: Institut für Planetenforschung), it is possible to analyse details no larger than 10 to 30 meters in three dimensions.

Rosetta and Philae

Depiction of Philae on Churyumov-Gerasimenko

The comet orbiter Rosetta is controlled from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), in Darmstadt, Germany.[8] The DLR has provided the structure, thermal subsystem, flywheel, the Active Descent System (procured by DLR but made in Switzerland),[9] ROLIS, downward-looking camera, SESAME, acoustic sounding and seismic instrument for Philae, the orbiter's landing unit. It has also managed the project and did the level product assurance. The University of Münster built MUPUS (it was designed and built in Space Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences[10]) and the Braunschweig University of Technology the ROMAP instrument. The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research made the payload engineering, eject mechanism, landing gear, anchoring harpoon, central computer, COSAC, APXS and other subsystems.

Columbus

The Columbus Module on the International Space Station orbiting the Earth in 2008

DLR operates the Columbus Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. It is responsible for the coordination of scientific activities as well as for systems operations and life support on board the orbiting Columbus laboratory.

In February 2008, the Columbus laboratory, Europe's core contribution to the International Space Station ISS, was brought into space by the Space Shuttle and docked to the ISS. The cylindrical module, which has a diameter of 4.5 metres (14 ft 9 in), contains state-of-the-art scientific equipment. It is planned to enable researchers on Earth to conduct thousands of experiments in biology, materials science, fluid physics and many other fields under conditions of weightlessness in space.

The Deutschland-1 orbital space plane flight, funded by West Germany, included over 6.4 tonnes (7 short tons) of German science research equipment

Research aircraft

ATTAS

SOFIA's maiden flight on 26 April 2007

DLR operates Europe's largest fleet of research aircraft. The aircraft are used both as research objects and as research tools. DLR's research aircraft provide platforms for all kinds of research missions. Scientists and engineers can use them for practical, application-oriented purposes: Earth observation, atmospheric research or testing new aircraft components. DLR is for instance investigating wing flutter and possible ways of eliminating it, which would also help to reduce aircraft noise. So-called "flying simulators" can be used to simulate the flight performance of aircraft that have not been built yet. This method was for instance used to test the Airbus A380 in the early stages of its development. The VFW 614 ATTAS was used to test several systems.[17]

The high-altitude research aircraft HALO (High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft) will be used for atmospheric research and Earth observation from 2009. With a cruising altitude of more than 15 kilometers and a range of over 8,000 kilometers, HALO will provide for the first time the capability to gather data on a continental scale, at all latitudes, from the tropics to the poles, and at altitudes as high as the lower stratosphere.

The Airbus A320-232 D-ATRA, the latest and largest addition to the fleet, has been in use by the German Aerospace Center since late 2008. ATRA (Advanced Technology Research Aircraft) is a modern and flexible flight test platform which sets a new benchmark for flying test beds in European aerospace research – and not just because of its size.

DLR and NASA jointly operate the flying infrared telescope SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy). A Boeing 747SP with a modified fuselage enabling it to carry a reflecting telescope developed in Germany is used as an airborne research platform. The aircraft is operated by the Dryden Flight Research Center at Site 9 (USAF Plant 42) in Palmdale, California. Observation flights will be flown 3 or 4 nights a week, for up to eight hours at a time and at an altitude of 12 to 14 kilometers. SOFIA has been designed to remain operational for a period of 20 years. It is the successor to the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO), which was deployed from 1974 to 1995.

On 31 January 2020, the DLR put its newest aircraft into service, a Falcon 2000LX ISTAR (In-flight Systems & Technology Airborne Research).[18]

Emissions research

ALNA Advanced Low Noise Aircraft model at ILA Berlin Air Show 2018

DLR conducts research into CO₂ and noise emissions caused by air transport. In order to ensure that increasing traffic volumes do not lead to an increase in the noise pollution caused by air transport, DLR is investigating options for noise reduction. The "Low-noise Approach and Departure Procedures" research project (German: Lärmoptimierte An- und Abflugverfahren), for instance, forms part of the national research project "Quiet Traffic" (German: Leiser Verkehr).

The objective of this project is to find flight procedures that can reduce the amount of noise generated during takeoff and landing. One approach is to analyse noise propagation at ground level during takeoff using a large number of microphones. Researchers are also trying to reduce the noise at source, focusing for instance on airframe and engine noise. They hope to minimise noise generated in the engines using so-called "antinoise".

The German Aerospace Center's research work on CO₂ emissions caused by air transport focuses for instance on model calculations concerning the effects of converting the global aircraft fleet to hydrogen propulsion. The growth rates of aviation are above average. This raises the question if CO₂ emission-free hydrogen propulsion could perhaps limit the effects of growing air traffic volumes on the environment and the climate.

Traffic Congestion

Zeppelin NT carrying the DLR logo

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup football championship, DLR implemented the Soccer project aimed at preventing traffic congestion. In this transportation research project, traffic data was obtained from the air in Berlin, Stuttgart and Cologne and used as input for traffic forecasting. A sensor system combining a conventional and a thermographic camera was used to obtain the data. A zeppelin, an aeroplane and a helicopter served as flying research platforms. An image analysis software package generated aerial photos showing the current traffic parameters as well as traffic forecasts. In this way, traffic control centres could be provided with almost-real-time traffic information, and road users could be diverted whenever necessary.

Solar tower power plant

The 11 MW PS10 near Seville in Spain.

In 2007, the first commercially operated solar tower power plant, the PS10 solar power tower, was commissioned. It has a capacity of eleven megawatt and it is located near Sevilla, in Sanlúcar la Mayor (Spain). DLR is prominently involved in developing the technology for this type of power plant.[21] In solar tower power plants, sun-tracking mirrors (heliostats) redirect the solar radiation onto a central heat exchanger (receiver) on top of a tower. This generates high-temperature process heat, which can then be used in gas or steam turbine power plants to generate electrical power for the public electricity grid. In the future, solar thermal tower plant technology could also be used to generate solar fuels, such as hydrogen, without CO₂ emissions.

Augsburg

Berlin

Bonn

Braunschweig

Bremen

Bremerhaven

Cochstedt

Cologne

Dresden

Göttingen

Hamburg

Hanover

Jena

Lampoldshausen

Neustrelitz

Oberpfaffenhofen

Stade

Stuttgart

Trauen

Ulm

Weilheim

Locations of some of the DLR branches in Germany

As of 2022, the DLR had 35 sites in Germany:[22]

Aachen and Aachen-Merzbrück

• Small Aircraft Technology[23]

Augsburg

• Augsburg-Universitätsviertel
  • Center for Lightweight Production Technology (Zentrum für Leichtbauproduktionstechnik)[24]

DLR at Adlershof, Berlin in 2007

Berlin

• Berlin-Adlershof
  • Institute of Planetary Research (Institut für Planetenforschung)[25]
  • Institute of Transport Research (Institut für Verkehrsforschung)
  • Institute of Optical Sensor Systems (Institut für Optische Sensorsysteme)[26]
  • Applied Remote Sensing Cluster
  • Project Management Agency - Information Technology
  • Institute of Space Systems, Department of System Conditioning (Abt. Systemkonditionierung)
  • DLR School Lab
• Located at TU Berlin
  • Institute of Propulsion Technology, Department of Engine Acoustics (Abt. Triebwerksakustik)
• Berlin-Charlottenburg
• Berlin-Carnot-Strasse
• Berlin-Zentrum
  • Project Management Agencies at DLR
  • Simulation and Software Technology

Bonn

• Bonn-Oberkassel
  • Space Agency (Raumfahrt-Agentur)
  • Project management for aerospace research and technology (Projektträger Luftfahrtforschung und -technologie)
  • DLR Project Management Agency (DLR-Projektträger)
  • International Office of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) - pursues the goal of expanding the international connections of German universities, research institutions and companies
  • EUREKA/COST Office
  • EU Office of the BMBF
• Bonn-Bad Godesberg
  • DLR Project Management Agency (DLR-Projektträger)

Braunschweig[27]

• Flight operations
• Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology
• Institute of Composite Structures and Adapative Systems
• Institute of Flight Guidance
• Institute of Flight Systems
• Institute of Transportation Systems
• Institute of Software Technology
• German-Dutch Wind Tunnels (DNW)
• DLR School Lab

Bremen

• Institute of Space Systems
• Maritime Security Centre
• DLR School Lab[28]

Bremerhaven

• Institut for the Protection of Maritime Infrastructures

Cologne

• Executive Board (Vorstand)
• Institute of Airport Operations and Air Traffic
• Institute of Propulsion Technology[29]
• Institute of Aerospace Medicine
• Institute of Material Physics in Space
• Institute of Materials Research
• Institute of Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics, Köln Wind Tunnel Department
• Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, Solar Research Department
• Space flight and astronaut training
• Simulation and Software Engineering
• Center for Solidification of Supercooled Melts (ZEUS) (Zentrum für Erstarrung Unterkühlter Schmelzen)
• DLR School Lab
• German-Dutch Wind Tunnels (DNW)

Cochstedt

• National Experimental Test Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems[30]

Cottbus and Zittau

• Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes[31]

Dresden

• Institute of Software Methods for Product Virtualization[32]

Geesthacht

• Institute of Maritime Energy Systems[33]

Göttingen

• Institute of Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics
• Institute of Aeroelasticity
• Institute of Drive Systems
• German-Dutch Wind Tunnels (DNW)
• DLR School Lab
• DLR Systems Engineering (Systemhaus Technik)
• DLR Technology Marketing
• DLR Central Archive[34]

Hanover

• Institute for Satellite Geodesy and Inertial Sensing[35]

Hamburg

• Department of Aerospace Psychology (besides research, also involved in the selection of astronauts and Lufthansa pilots)[36]
• Institute of Aerospace Medicine
• Research Center for Air Transport Systems[37]
• DLR School Lab

Jena

• Institute of Data Science[38]

Jülich

• Institute for Solar Research
• Institute for Future Fuels

Lampoldshausen

• Institute of Space Propulsion
• Institute of Technical Physics

Neustrelitz

• Institute of Communications and Navigation: GNSS Validation and Completion Techniques (Validierungs- und Ergänzungstechniken)
• Institute of Communications and Navigation: Ionospheric Effects and Corrections
• Remote Sensing Technology Institute: Atmospheric Processes (Atmosphärenprozessoren)
• German Remote Sensing Data Centre - National Ground Segment
• Technology Marketing
• DLR School Lab

Oberpfaffenhofen airport with the adjacent DLR Oberpfaffenhofen site on the West

Oberpfaffenhofen

• Applied Remote Sensing Cluster
• Space Operations and Astronaut Training
• German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD)
• Flight Operations
• Institute of Microwaves and Radar Systems (Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Radarsysteme)
• Institute of Communications and Navigation (Institut für Kommunikation und Navigation)
• Institute of Remote Sensing Technology
• Institute of Atmospheric Physics (Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre)
• Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics (Institut für Robotik und Mechatronik)[39]
• Institute of System Dynamics and Control (Institut für Systemdynamik und Regelungstechnik)[40]
• German Space Operations Center (Deutsches Raumfahrt-Kontrollzentrum)
• DLR School Lab

Oldenburg

• Institute of Networked Energy Systems (Institut für Vernetzte Energiesysteme)[41]

Rheinbach

• Institute for the Protection of Terrestrial Infrastructures

St. Augustin

• Institute for the Protection of Terrestrial Infrastructures
• Institute for AI Safety and Security

Stade

• Institute of Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems
• Center for Lightweight Production Technology

Stuttgart

• Institute of Structures and Design
• Institute of Vehicle Concepts
• Institute of Technical Physics
• Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics
• Institute of Combustion Technology
• Institute of Networked Energy Systems (Institut für Vernetzte Energiesysteme)[41]
• DLR School Lab

Trauen

• Institute of Propulsion Technology, Engine / Fire Safety department[42]

Ulm

• Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics
• Institute of Quantum Technologies
• Institute for AI Safety and Security

Weilheim (Oberbayern)

• Space Operations and Astronaut Training

Examples of DLR or parent institution human spaceflight missions:[43]

• FSLP (1983), with Ulf Merbold using Spaceman on STS-9
• D1 (1985), with Reinhard Furrer and Ernst Messerschmid ( with Netherlands' Wubbo Ockels on STS-61-A)
• D2 (1993), with Hans Schlegel and Ulrich Walter
• Mir 92/92E (1992), with Klaus-Dietrich Flade
• Euromir 94, with Ulf Merbold
• Euromir 95, with Thomas Reiter
• MIR '97, with Reinhold Ewald
• X-SAR/SRTM (2000), with Gerhard Thiele
• Blue dot (2014), with Alexander Gerst, on the ISS
• Horizons (2018), with Alexander Gerst, on the ISS

DLR's A320 D-ATRA

Examples of research aircraft:[44]

• Bo 105 (for ATTHeS In-Flight Simulator)
• EC 135 (for Flying Helicopter Simulator (FHS))
• VFW 614 (for ATTAS)
• Boeing 747SP (DLR/NASA project for SOFIA)
• Airbus A320-232 ("D-ATRA")
• Zeppelin NT (for traffic analysis)
• Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ("D-FDLR")
• Dassault Falcon 20E ("D-CMET")
• DG 300 Elan-17 (glider)
• Dornier 228-101 ("D-CODE")
• Dornier 228-212 ("D-CFFU")
• DR 400/200R Remorqueur ("D-EDVE")
• Gulfstream G550 ("D-ADLR", for HALO)
• LFU 205 ("D-ELFU", since 1985)
• Grob Strato 2C[45] ("D-CDLR", retired)

The DLR produced this digitally processed image of the Moon

Examples of DLR (or parent institution) space missions.[43] Many of these are also joint or international missions.

DLR Magazine is the institute's flagship publication, also published in English as of June 2010.[46] Subject matter includes science, editorials and images.[46]

• Open access in Germany
• Die Astronautin
• List of aerospace flight test centres
• List of government space agencies

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt.

• Homepage of the DLR
  • DLR Homepage English
• DLR School Lab Schülerlabor
• Website of the Washington DC DLR Office
• Helmholtz Community (HGF)