The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is the national centre for aerospace, energy and transportation research of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has multiple locations throughout Germany. Its headquarters are located in Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

. It is engaged in a wide range of research and development projects in national and international partnerships. In addition to conducting its own research projects, DLR also acts as the German space agency. As such, it is responsible for planning and implementing the German space programme on behalf of the German federal government

Cabinet of Germany

The Cabinet of Germany is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Chancellor and the cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's organization are set down in articles 62 to 69 of the Basic Law.-Nomination:...

. As project management agency, DLR also coordinates and answers for the technical and organisational implementation of projects funded by a number of German federal ministries.

Overview

DLR currently employs about 6,200 people. It has 29 institutes and facilities, spread over 13 sites, as well as offices in Brussels, Paris and Washington, D.C. DLR has a budget of about 670 million euro to cover its own research and development activities as well as its operational tasks. Approximately one third of this sum comes from competitively allocated third-party funds

Research funding

Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of both "hard" science and technology and social science. The term often connotes funding obtained through a competitive process, in which potential research projects are evaluated and only the most...

 (German: Drittmittel). In addition to this, DLR administers around 500 million euro in German funds for the European Space Agency

European Space Agency

The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...

 (ESA). In its capacity as project management agency, it manages over 650 million euro in funds earmarked for research in a wide range of fields on behalf of German federal ministries. DLR is a full member of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems

Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems

The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems was formed in 1982 by the major space agencies of the world to provide a forum for discussion of common problems in the development and operation of space data systems...

 (CCSDS) and a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.

In the context of DLR’s initiatives to promote young research talent, seven DLR School Labs were set up in Berlin-Adlershof, Göttingen

Göttingen

Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...

, Hamburg-Harburg, Lampoldshausen/Stuttgart, Cologne-Porz, Oberpfaffenhofen

Oberpfaffenhofen

Oberpfaffenhofen is a village which is part of the municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is 20 kilometers from the city center of Munich....

 and Dortmund

Dortmund

Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....

 over the past years. In the DLR School Labs, school 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:

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johann-Dietrich Wörner (Chairman) since March 2007
• Klaus Hamacher (Vice Chairman) since April 2006
• Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Hansjörg Dittus (Executive Board member for space research and development) since June 2011.
• Prof. Rolf Henke (Executive Board member for aeronautics) since November 2010
• Ulrich Wagner (Executive Board member for energie and transport) since March 2010
• Gerd Gruppe (Executive Board member for space administration) since April 2011

History

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 (German for "Aerodynamics Laboratory" or "Aerodynamic Experimental Station"). In the 1940s the AVA funded Konrad Zuse

Konrad Zuse

Konrad Zuse was a German civil engineer and computer pioneer. His greatest achievement was the world's first functional program-controlled Turing-complete computer, the Z3, which became operational in May 1941....

's work on the computers Z3 and Z4

Z4 (computer)

The Z4 was the world's first commercial digital computer, designed by German engineer Konrad Zuse and built by his company Zuse Apparatebau between 1942 and 1945....

.

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

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

What was later called the DLR was formed in 1969 as the Deutsche Forschungs- und Versuchsanstalt für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DFVLR; German for "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 for "German Laboratory for Aviation"), the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Luftfahrt (DFL; German for "German Research Institute for Aviation") and (in 1972) the Gesellschaft für Weltraumforschung (GfW; German for "Society for Space Research").

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

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 meaning "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. This should not be confused with DLR's Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme located in Bremen. Also, significant contributions are made to the European Space Organization.

Research

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

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

, Space

Spaceflight

Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...

, Transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

ation and Energy

Energy

In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...

, ranges from basic research

Basic Research

Basic Research is an herbal supplement and cosmetics manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, Utah that distributes products through a large number of subsidiaries. In addition, their products are sold domestically and internationally through a number of high-end retailers. Dennis Gay is the...

 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

Aeronautics

Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...

 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

Space exploration

Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....

 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. 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

Energy development

Energy development is the effort to provide sufficient primary energy sources and secondary energy forms for supply, cost, impact on air pollution and water pollution, mitigation of climate change with renewable energy....

, DLR is working on highly efficient, low- power generation technologies based on gas turbines and fuel cells, on solar thermal power generation, and on the efficient use of heat, including cogeneration

Cogeneration

Cogeneration is the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat....

 based on fossil and renewable energy sources. The topics covered by DLR’s transportation research

Transport engineering

Transportation engineering is the application of technology and scientific principles to the planning, functional design, operation and management of facilities for any mode of transportation in order to provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and environmentally...

 are maintaining mobility, protecting the environment and saving resources, and improving transportation safety.

In addition to the already existing projects Mars Express

Mars Express

Mars Express is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency . The Mars Express mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally referred to the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was...

, global navigation satellite system

Global Navigation Satellite System

A satellite navigation or SAT NAV system is a system of satellites that provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. It allows small electronic receivers to determine their location to within a few metres using time signals transmitted along a line-of-sight by radio from...

 Galileo, and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission is an international research effort that obtained digital elevation models on a near-global scale from 56° S to 60° N, to generate the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of Earth prior to the release of the ASTER GDEM in 2009...

, the Institute of Space Systems (German: Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme) was founded in Bremen on 26 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.

HRSC on board Mars Express

The High Resolution Stereo Camera HRSC is the most important German contribution to the European Space Agency ESA’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 form 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 metres in three dimensions.

Remote sensing of the Earth

In remote sensing

Remote sensing

Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...

 of the Earth, satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

s provide comprehensive and continually updated information on "System Earth". This remote sensing data is used to investigate the Earth’s atmosphere, land and ocean surfaces, and ice sheets. Practical applications of this technology include environmental monitoring and disaster relief.

Following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...

, for instance, up-to-date maps could be compiled very quickly using Earth observation satellites. These maps could then be used for orientation during relief missions. DLR conducts these research activities at the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) (German: Deutsches Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum), a DLR institute based in Oberpfaffenhofen. Nowadays, satellite data is also important for climate research

Climatology

Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time, and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences...

: it is used to measure temperatures, levels, particulate matter levels, rainforest deforestation and the radiation conditions

Albedo

Albedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...

 of the Earth’s surface (land, oceans, polar ice).

TerraSAR-X

The new German Earth observation satellite TerraSAR-X

TerraSAR-X

TerraSAR-X, a German Earth observation satellite, is a joint venture being carried out under a public-private-partnership between the German Aerospace Center DLR and EADS Astrium GmbH; the exclusive commercial exploitation rights are held by the geo-information service provider Infoterra GmbH....

 was launched in June 2007. The objective of this five-year mission is to provide radar remote sensing data to scientific and commercial users. The satellite’s design is based on the technology and expertise developed in the X-SAR and SRTM SAR missions (Synthetic Aperture Radar

Synthetic aperture radar

Synthetic-aperture radar is a form of radar whose defining characteristic is its use of relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations that are exploited to obtain finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional...

). The sensor has a number of different modes of operation, with a maximum resolution of one metre, and is capable of generating elevation profiles.

TerraSAR-X is the first satellite that was jointly paid for by government and industry. DLR contributed about 80 percent of the total expenses, with the remainder being covered by EADS Astrium

EADS Astrium

Astrium Satellites is one of the three business units of Astrium, a subsidiary of EADS. It is a European space manufacturer involved in the manufacture of spacecraft used for science, Earth observation and telecommunication, as well as the equipment and subsystems used therein and related ground...

. The satellite's core component is a radar sensor operating in the X band and capable of recording the Earth’s surface using a range of different modes of operation, capturing an area of 10 to 100 kilometres in size with a resolution of 1 to 16 metres.

Suborbital Spaceplane

Since 2005 DLR is studying a suborbital spaceplane concept making fast intercontinental passenger transport possible. The so-called SpaceLiner

SpaceLiner

-External links:* * * *...

 is a reusable vehicle lifting-off vertically and landing like a glider.

Research aircraft

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

Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...

 in the early stages of its development. The VFW 614 ATTAS was used to test several systems.

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 kilometres and a range of over 8,000 kilometres, 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

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 jointly operate the flying infrared telescope SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center to construct and maintain an airborne observatory. NASA awarded the contract for the development of the aircraft, operation of the observatory and management of the American part of the...

). A Boeing 747SP

Boeing 747SP

The Boeing 747SP is a modified version of the Boeing 747 jet airliner which was designed for ultra-long-range flights. The SP stands for "Special Performance". Compared with its predecessor, the 747-100, the 747SP retains its wide-body, four-engine layout, along with its double-deck design, but...

 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

Dryden Flight Research Center

The Dryden Flight Research Center , located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. Dryden, a prominent aeronautical engineer who at the time of his death in 1965 was NASA's deputy administrator...

 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 kilometres. SOFIA has been designed to remain operational for a period of 20 years. It is the successor to the Kuiper Airborne Observatory

Kuiper Airborne Observatory

The Gerard P. Kuiper Airborne Observatory was a national facility operated by NASA to support research in infrared astronomy. The observation platform was a highly modified C-141A jet transport aircraft with a range of 6,000 nautical miles , capable of conducting research operations up to 48,000...

 (KAO), which was deployed from 1974 to 1995.

Emissions research

DLR conducts research into 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

Active noise control

Active noise control is a method for reducing unwanted sound.- Explanation :...

".

The German Aerospace Center's research work on emissions caused by air transport focuses for instance on model calculations concerning the effects of converting the global aircraft fleet to hydrogen propulsion

Hydrogen vehicle

A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen as its onboard fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen fueled space rockets, as well as automobiles and other transportation vehicles...

. The growth rates of aviation are above average. This raises the question if emission-free hydrogen propulsion could perhaps limit the effects of growing air traffic volumes on the environment and the climate.

Hydrogen as an energy carrier

The Hydrosol and Hydrosol-2

Hydrosol-2

HYDROSOL is series of European Union funded projects for the promotion of renewable energy...

 is one of the energy research projects in which DLR scientists are engaged. For the first time, scientists have achieved thermal water splitting using solar energy, generating hydrogen and oxygen without emissions. For this achievement, the DLR team and several other research groups received the Descartes Prize

Descartes Prize

The Descartes Prize is an annual award in science given by the European Union, named in honour of the French mathematician and philosopher, René Descartes....

, a research award created by the European Commission. The FP6 Hydrosol II pilot reactor (around 100 kW) for solar thermochemical

Thermochemistry

Thermochemistry is the study of the energy and heat associated with chemical reactions and/or physical transformations. A reaction may release or absorb energy, and a phase change may do the same, such as in melting and boiling. Thermochemistry focuses on these energy changes, particularly on the...

 hydrogen production

Hydrogen production

Hydrogen production is the family of industrial methods for generating hydrogen. Currently the dominant technology for direct production is steam reforming from hydrocarbons. Many other methods are known including electrolysis and thermolysis...

 at the Plataforma Solar de Almería

Plataforma Solar de Almería

The Plataforma Solar de Almería is a center for the exploration of the solar energy, situated in the Province of Almería.-History:It was founded in the early 1980s and run by the centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas , its location is on the edge of the Tabernas...

 in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 started in November 2005 and is in operation since 2008.

Soccer traffic

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

In 2007, the first commercially operated solar tower power plant

Solar power tower

The solar power tower is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower...

, the PS10 solar power tower

PS10 solar power tower

The PS10 Solar Power Plant , is Europe's first commercial concentrating solar power tower operating near Seville, in Andalucia, Spain. The 11 megawatt solar power tower produces electricity with 624 large movable mirrors called heliostats...

, was commissioned. It has a capacity of eleven megawatt and it is located near Sevilla, in Sanlúcar la Mayor

Sanlúcar la Mayor

Sanlúcar la Mayor is a municipality in the province of Seville, southern Spain. The municipality is also the location of the Solucar solar power plant....

 (Spain). DLR is prominently involved in developing the technology for this type of power plant. 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 emissions.

Spacelab, Shuttle, Mir, Soyuz

Germany has near ten astronauts and participates in ESA manned space programs including flights of German astronauts aboard US Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...

s and Russian spacecrafts. Besides flights under ESA and paid for seat flights on Soyuz and Mir

Mir

Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...

, two Space Shuttle missions with the European built Spacelab

Spacelab

Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...

 were fully funded and organizationally and scientifically controlled by Germany (like a separate few by ESA and one by Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

) with German astronauts on board as masters and not guests. The first West German mission Deutschland 1 (Spacelab-D1, DLR-1, NASA designation STS-61-A

STS-61-A

STS-61-A was the 22nd mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program. It was a scientific Spacelab mission, funded and directed by West Germany – hence the non-NASA designation of D-1 . STS-61-A was the last successful mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger, which was destroyed during STS-51-L in 1986...

) took place in 1985. The second similar mission, Deutschland 2 (Spacelab-D2, DLR-2, NASA designation STS-55

STS-55

-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.7 min-Mission highlights:...

), was first planned for 1988, but then due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...

 was delayed until 1993 when it became the first German manned space mission after German reunification

German reunification

German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...

.

Columbus

DLR operates the Columbus Control Center

Columbus Control Center

The Columbus Control Centre is the Mission Control Center which is used to control the European Columbus research laboratory, which is part of the International Space Station . The control centre is located at the German Aerospace Center facility in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Germany...

 in Oberpfaffenhofen

Oberpfaffenhofen

Oberpfaffenhofen is a village which is part of the municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is 20 kilometers from the city center of Munich....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. 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

Columbus (ISS module)

Columbus is a science laboratory that is part of the International Space Station and is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency ....

, Europe’s core contribution to the International Space Station ISS

International Space Station

The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

, was brought into space by the Space Shuttle and docked to the ISS. The cylindrical module, which has a diameter of 4.5 m (14.8 feet), 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.

Astronomical surveys

The Uppsala-DLR Trojan Survey

Uppsala-DLR Trojan Survey

The Uppsala-DLR Trojan Survey is an effort to study the movements and locations of asteroids near Jupiter, specifically those in orbits similar to that of Jupiter , and those that Jupiter blocks from the Earth...

 (UDTS) was a search for asteroids near Jupiter

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...

 in the 1990s, in collaboration with the Swedish Uppsala Astronomical Observatory

Uppsala Astronomical Observatory

The Uppsala Astronomical Observatory is the oldest astronomical observatory in Sweden. It was founded in 1741, though there was a professorial chair of astronomy at the University of Uppsala from 1593 and the university archives include lecture notes in astronomy from the 1480s.In the 18th...

. When it concluded there was another survey, the UAO-DLR Asteroid Survey

UAO-DLR Asteroid Survey

The UAO - DLR Asteroid Survey , also known as the Uppsala-DLR Asteroid Survey, is a dedicated programme to search for and follow up asteroids and comets, with special emphasis on near-Earth objects in co-operation and support of global efforts in NEO-research, initiated by the Working Group on...

, this time with a focus on Near Earth asteroids and both surveys discovered numerous objects.

Locations

DLR is present in Germany at fourteen locations:

Augsburg

Augsburg

Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

• Augsburg-Universitätsviertel
  • Center for Lightweight Construction (Zentrum für Leichtbauproduktionstechnik) (under construction)

Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

• Berlin-Adlershof
  • Institute for Planetary Research (Institut für Planetenforschung)
  • Institute for Transport Research (Institut für Verkehrsforschung)
  • Optische Informationssysteme
  • Cluster Angewandte Fernerkundung
  • Projektträger im DLR - Informationstechnik
  • Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme, Abt. Systemkonditionierung
  • DLR_School_Lab
• Räumlich integriert in TU Berlin
  • Institut für Antriebstechnik, Abt. Triebwerksakustik
• Berlin-Charlottenburg
• Berlin-Carnot-Strasse
  • Projektträger im DLR - Arbeitsgestaltung und Dienstleistung

Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

• Bonn-Oberkassel
  • Space Agency (Raumfahrt-Agentur)
  • Projektträger Luftfahrtforschung und -technologie
  • Projektträger im DLR
  • Internationales Büro des BMBF, verfolgt das Ziel, die internationale Vernetzung deutscher Hochschulen, Forschungseinrichtungen und Unternehmen auszubauen
  • EUREKA
    EUREKA
    EUREKA, often abbreviated as "E!" or "Σ!", is a pan-European research and development funding and coordination organization. EUREKA aims to coordinate efforts of governments, research institutes and commercial companies concerning innovation...
    
    /COST
    Cost
    In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which case the amount of money expended to acquire it is counted as cost. In this...
    
    -Büro
  • EU-Büro des BMBF
• Bad Godesberg
  • Projektträger im DLR

Braunschweig

Braunschweig

Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....

• • Flugbetriebe
  • Institut für Aerodynamik und Strömungstechnik
  • Institut für Faserverbundleichtbau und Adaptronik
  • Institut für Flugführung
  • Institut für Flugsystemtechnik
  • Institut für Verkehrssystemtechnik
  • Simulations- und Softwaretechnik
  • Deutsch-Niederländische Windkanäle (DNW)
  • DLR_School_Lab

Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

• Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme

Göttingen

Göttingen

Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...

• • Institut für Aerodynamik und Strömungstechnik
  • Institut für Aeroelastik
  • Institut für Antriebstechnik, Abt. Turbinentechnologie
  • Deutsch-Niederländische Windkanäle (DNW)
  • DLR_School_Lab

Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

• • Abteilung Luft- und Raumfahrtpsychologie (neben Forschung auch an Auswahl der Astronauten und Lufthansa
    Lufthansa
    Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
    
    -Piloten beteiligt)
  • Institut für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin
  • Forschungsstelle Lufttransportsysteme
  • DLR_School_Lab

Köln

KOLN

KOLN, digital channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on digital channel 11 in Grand Island. KGIN repeats all KOLN programming, but airs separate commercials...

• • Board of Directors (Vorstand)
  • Institut für Flughafenwesen und Luftverkehr
  • Institut für Antriebstechnik
  • Institut für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin
  • Institut für Materialphysik im Weltraum
  • Institut für Werkstoff-Forschung
  • Institut für Aerodynamik und Strömungstechnik, Abt. Windkanäle Köln
  • Institut für Technische Thermodynamik, Abt. Solarforschung
  • Raumflugbetrieb und Astronautentraining
  • Simulations- und Softwaretechnik
  • Zentrum für Erstarrung Unterkühlter Schmelzen (ZEUS)
  • DLR_School_Lab
  • Deutsch-Niederländische Windkanäle (DNW)

Lampoldshausen

Lampoldshausen

Lampoldshausen is a small village near Möckmühl, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.Near Lampoldshausen there is since 1963 a large test stand areal for static firing of rocket engines, especially from Ariane-rockets.-External links:...

• • Institut für Raumfahrtantriebe
  • Außenstelle des Instituts für Technische Physik

Neustrelitz

Neustrelitz

Neustrelitz is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 until 1918 it was the capital of the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz...

• • Institut für Kommunikation und Navigation: GNSS Validierungs- und Ergänzungstechniken
  • Institut für Kommunikation und Navigation: Ionosphärische Effekte und Korrekturen
  • Institut für Methoden der Fernerkundung: Atmosphärenprozessoren
  • Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum - Nationales Bodensegment
  • Technologiemarketing
  • DLR_School_Lab

Oberpfaffenhofen

Oberpfaffenhofen

Oberpfaffenhofen is a village which is part of the municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is 20 kilometers from the city center of Munich....

 

• • Applied Remote Sensing Cluster
  • Space Operations and Astronaut Training
  • German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD)
  • Flugbetriebe
  • Microwaves and Radar Institute (Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Radarsysteme)
  • Institute of Communications and Navigation (Institut für Kommunikation und Navigation)
  • Institut für Methodik der Fernerkundung
  • Institute of Atmospheric Physics (Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre)
  • Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics (Institut für Robotik und Mechatronik)
  • Raumfahrtkontrollzentrum / German Space Operations Center (GSOC)
  • DLR_School_Lab

Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

• • Institut für Bauweisen- und Konstruktionsforschung
  • Institut für Fahrzeugkonzepte
  • Institut für Technische Physik
  • Institut für Technische Thermodynamik
  • Institut für Verbrennungstechnik
  • DLR_School_Lab

Trauen

Weilheim

Weilheim in Oberbayern

Weilheim in Oberbayern is a town in Germany, the capital of the district Weilheim-Schongau in the south of Bavaria.Weilheim has an old city-wall, historic houses and a museum.-Sport:...

 (Oberbayern)

Manned spaceflight

Examples of DLR (or parent institution) manned spaceflight missions:

• FSLP (1983), with U. Merbold
  Ulf Merbold
  Dr. Ulf Dietrich Merbold is the first West German citizen and second German native to have flown in space. He is also the first member of the European Space Agency Astronaut Corps to participate in a spaceflight mission. He holds the distinction of being the first non-US citizen to reach orbit in...
  
  
• D1 (1985), with R. Furrer and E. Messerschmidt (also with W. Ockels
  Wubbo Ockels
  Prof. Dr. Wubbo Johannes Ockels is a Dutch physicist and a former ESA astronaut. In 1985 he participated in a flight on a space shuttle , making him the first Dutch citizen in space. He was not the first Dutch-born astronaut, as he is preceded by the naturalized American Lodewijk van den Berg, who...
  
  )
• D2 (1993), with H. Schlegel
  Hans Schlegel
  Hans Wilhelm Schlegel is a German physicist, an ESA astronaut, and a veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions.-Early life and education:...
  
   and U. Walter
  Ulrich Walter
  Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hans Walter is a German physicist/engineer and a former DFVLR astronaut.Walter was born in Iserlohn, Germany. After finishing secondary school there and two years in the Bundeswehr, he studied physics at the University of Cologne...
  
  
• Mir 92/92E (1992), with K.D. Flade
  Klaus-Dietrich Flade
  Klaus-Dietrich Flade is a German pilot and former German Aerospace Center astronaut who visited the Mir space station in 1992 aboard the Soyuz TM-14 mission, returning to Earth a week later aboard Soyuz TM-13.-Biography:...
  
  
• Euromir 94, with U. Merbold
• Euromir 95, with T. Reiter
  Thomas Reiter
  Thomas Arthur Reiter is a retired European astronaut and is a Brigadier General in the Luftwaffe currently working as Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations at the European Space Agency . , he was one of the top 25 astronauts in terms of total time in space...
  
  
• Mir '97, with R. Ewald
  Reinhold Ewald
  Dr. Reinhold Ewald is a German physicist and ESA astronaut.Born in Mönchengladbach, Germany, he received diploma in experimental physics from the University of Cologne in 1983 and the Ph.D. in 1986, with a minor degree in human physiology.In 1990, he was selected to the German astronaut team,...
  
  
• X-SAR/SRTM (2000), with R. Thiele
  Gerhard Thiele
  Dr. Gerhard Paul Julius Thiele is a German physicist and a former ESA astronaut.-Early life and education:Born in Heidenheim an der Brenz, he attended the Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Ludwigsburg. After school he volunteered for the German Navy, serving as Operations/Weapons Officer aboard fast...
  
  

Research aircraft

Examples of research aircraft:

• Bo 105 (for ATTHeS In-Flight Simulator)
• EC 135
  Eurocopter EC 135
  The Eurocopter EC135 is a twin-engine civil helicopter produced by Eurocopter, widely used amongst police and ambulance services and for executive transport. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules .-Development:...
  
   (for Flying Helicopter Simulator (FHS))
• VFW 614 (for ATTAS)
  
• Boeing 747SP
  Boeing 747SP
  The Boeing 747SP is a modified version of the Boeing 747 jet airliner which was designed for ultra-long-range flights. The SP stands for "Special Performance". Compared with its predecessor, the 747-100, the 747SP retains its wide-body, four-engine layout, along with its double-deck design, but...
  
   (DLR/NASA project for SOFIA
  Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
  The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center to construct and maintain an airborne observatory. NASA awarded the contract for the development of the aircraft, operation of the observatory and management of the American part of the...
  
  )
• Airbus A320-232 ("D-ATRA")
• Zeppelin NT
  Zeppelin NT
  The Zeppelin NT is a class of airships being manufactured since the 1990s by the German company Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH in Friedrichshafen. The initial model is the NT07...
  
   (for traffic analysis)
• Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ("D-FDLR")
• Dassault Falcon 20E
  Dassault Falcon 20
  The Dassault Falcon 20 is a French business jet and was the first of a family of business jets built by Dassault Aviation.-Design and development:...
  
   ("D-CMET")
• DG 300 Elan-17
  Glaser-Dirks DG-300
  The DG-300 is a Standard Class single-seat high-performance glider built of glass-reinforced plastic. The DG-300 was designed by Wilhelm Dirks and manufactured by Glaser-Dirks Flugzeugbau's Slovenian partner company Elan . A total of 511 of all versions were built since production started in 1983...
  
   (glider)
• Dornier Do 228-101
  Dornier Do 228
  The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier GmbH from 1981 until 1998. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics bought a production licence and manufactures the 228 for the Asian market sphere. Approximately 270 Do 228 were built at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany and...
  
   ("D-CODE")
• Dornier Do 228-212 ("D-CFFU")
• DR 400/200R Remorqueur
  Robin DR400
  |- References :*Exavia Ltd - article "A DR400 Buyers' Guide"* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft , 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2799...
  
   ("D-EDVE")
• Gulfstream G550 (for HALO)
• LFU 205
  LFU 205
  -External links:*...
  
   (since 1985)

Space missions

Examples of DLR (or parent institution) current and past space missions. Many of these are also joint or international missions.

Current

• TanDEM-X - TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement
• Prisma
• SATCOMBw
• TerraSAR-X
• Columbus
• Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)
• BIRD - Bispectral InfraRed Detector
• GRACE - Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment
• SAR-Lupe

Past

• CHAMP - CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload
• AZUR
• AEROS
• HELIOS
• AMPTE
• GALILEO
• ROSAT
  ROSAT
  ROSAT was a German Aerospace Center-led satellite X-ray telescope, with instruments built by Germany, the UK and the US...
  
  
• EXPRESS
• Equator-S
• MOMS-2P
• ABRIXAS
• SYMPHONIE A+B
• TV-Sat 1 & 2
• DFS Kopernikus 1,2,3
• EUTELSAT II (F1,F2,F3,F4,F5,F6)
• EUTELSAT W (W2,W3,W4,W1R,HB6,W5)

DLR Magazine

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

External links

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