German Aerospace Center, DLR

Name: German Aerospace Center, DLR
Address: Linder Höhe, Cologne, 51147, DE
Telephone: +4922036010
Price range: Not applicable
Rating: 4.5

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Deutschland
Cologne
German Aerospace Center, DLR

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is Germany's national research centre for aeronautics and space.
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03/06/2026

A coating designed to destroy the very material beneath it. Exactly as intended. 🔥

Most coatings are developed to protect materials and improve durability. At the DLR Institute of Frontier Materials on Earth and in Space, researchers are exploring the opposite approach: coatings that help satellites burn up more completely during atmospheric re-entry instead of surviving as debris.

Using PVD-based coating systems (Physical Vapour Deposition), a metal alloy is transformed into a gaseous state and deposited onto stainless steel inside a vacuum chamber. The resulting layer is only 20 micrometres thick – thinner than a human hair – and applied atom by atom through ‘sputtering’.

Despite being ultra-thin, the coating significantly changes the material’s behaviour under extreme heat, allowing satellite components to heat up and melt earlier during re-entry.

The research is part of the ‘Design for Demise’ approach, tested in the DLR plasma wind tunnel and contributing to the ESA - European Space Agency Clean Space initiative and its ‘Zero Debris’ goal for future missions by 2030.

26/05/2026

We are cleared for landing ✈️
Next stop: ILA Berlin 2026.

We are excited to be part of ILA Berlin 2026 — one of Europe’s leading aerospace exhibitions.

Join us as we showcase our latest work and research across key areas of aerospace innovation:
🚀 Propulsion research
🌍 Innovative concepts for sustainable aviation and space technologies
💻 Digitalisation in aviation
🛡️ Security and defence research
🛰️ And many other current projects and latest research findings

📍 Berlin ExpoCenter Airport
📅 10–14 July 2026

We look forward to seeing you at ✈️

21/05/2026

A lucky coin for MODULARIS 🪙

🛳️In shipbuilding, the keel-laying marks the official start of construction – and this week, the moment arrived: the traditional coin ceremony for DLR's future research vessel MODULARIS was held at FSG Shipyard in Flensburg. A lucky coin was placed beneath the ship's first prefabricated steel module – a centuries-old ritual to wish the vessel good fortune and safe seas. 🍀🌊

🙂‍↕️The name says it all – MODULARIS blends 'modular' with the Latin 'maris', meaning 'of the sea'. It's a fitting name for what the vessel is set to become: a flexible floating laboratory. 🔬

⚓️That first steel module may not look like much just yet, but it's the beginning of a 48-metre floating laboratory designed to test innovative maritime technologies under real conditions, from climate-compatible propulsion systems to autonomous technologies.

28/04/2026

100 days. One habitat. No resupply. 🚀
SOLIS100 is a joint ESA - European Space Agency c German Aerospace Center, DLR research study simulating the conditions of
long-duration space missions, conducted at :envihab in Cologne🇩🇪.

🗓️ For 100 days, participants live in a tightly controlled environment designed to mirror life beyond Earth. Isolation, confinement, limited resources, and strict routines all become part of daily reality — offering valuable insights into how humans adapt under space-like conditions.

🍎 One of the most critical challenges in such an environment is food. With no
refrigeration and no resupply, every meal must be carefully planned long in advance.

🚀Space food is engineered not only to remain safe over extended periods, but also to
meet strict nutritional requirements and support cognitive performance and emotional well-being.

Because in extreme isolation, food is far more than fuel. It becomes a key factor in
maintaining health, morale, and mission readiness.

👀Read more about SOLIS100 here: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/SOLIS100_isolation_study_begins_in_Germany

22/04/2026

This Earth Day, we’re highlighting an incredible collaboration between DLR and ESA - European Space Agency to protect one of our planet’s most vital resources: forests! 🌍🌳

Last year, our Dornier DO 228-212 research aircraft flew over Gabon’s lush rainforests, working in tandem with ESA’s Biomass satellite. Using advanced radar technology, we captured detailed data to help calibrate the satellite’s systems, ensuring it can accurately measure global forest biomass.

Forests play a crucial role in absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, making them essential in the fight against climate change. By fine-tuning the Biomass satellite, we’re contributing to a better understanding of forest health and carbon storage worldwide.

A big thank you to our partners at ESA - European Space Agency, Gabon’s space agency AGEOS, and everyone who made this mission possible!

14/04/2026

Think you know contrails? Think again! 🛩️✈️
Flying right behind a passenger aircraft, DLR's Falcon 20E research aircraft helped change what we know about contrail formation.

🔎 A DLR research, in collaboration with Airbus and CFM International, found that reducing soot alone doesn’t reduce contrail formation. Tiny particles from fuel and engine oil can also lead to ice crystals ❄️ – something that wasn’t fully understood until now.

👨‍🔬 The findings, published in Nature, were part of the NEOFUELS/VOLCAN measurement campaign. These are now helping improve climate models and future aircraft engine design.

Background Music: Waves of Time - Amber Glow

03/04/2026

How do we protect astronauts from space radiation on their way to the Moon? 🌕
Artemis II has officially launched and all eyes are on this next leap in human spaceflight. 🚀

Thomas Berger from the Institue of Aerospace Medicine dives into one of the biggest challenges of leaving Earth behind: space radiation. What does it really take to keep astronauts safe beyond our planet?
Perfect timing for a historic mission like this and we're seriously excited to witness Artemis II making history. Who's watching? 👀

24/03/2026

Breakthrough in propulsion research! 🚀🤓

And this is what that looks like: a cryogenic rotating detonation engine (RDE) pushed to extreme limits. Not only does it create an epic powerblast 💥 — it also generates critical experimental data in some of the harshest conditions in combustion research.

At the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Space Propulsion, the engine has been ignited and operated under progressively colder conditions. Starting with gaseous oxygen at room temperature to fully liquid oxygen (LOX) at 90 K (−183 °C). 🥶
Instead of a steady flame, these engines use a detonation wave that races around the chamber in a loop, continuously igniting the mixture. This approach could help us find an alternative way of designing propulsion systems.
By stepping through these oxygen states, the tests reveal how injection and combustion behave under extreme cryogenic conditions.

😎This is what the future of propulsion looks like.👩‍🔬👨‍🔬

17/03/2026

🪐You may have heard of PLATO – ESA - European Space Agency's upcoming exoplanet-hunting spacecraft. After passing its vibration tests, it has been sealed inside the Large Space Simulator (LSS) at ESTEC in the Netherlands – essentially a giant vacuum chamber that replicates the extreme temperature swings of space. The tests are to check that the back of the spacecraft – its solar panels and sunshield which face the Sun – can survive scorching temperatures of 160°C, while its cameras and optical bench facing the cold, dark deep space can survive down to minus 80°C. 🥵🥶

PLATO has been inside the LSS and facing these extremes since 18 February and is due to be released at the end of March. 📸In this photo you can see the 26 gleaming blue lenses of its wide-field cameras, which will scan space for Earth-like exoplanets once the spacecraft launches aboard an Ariane 6 in early 2027.

Almost there, PLATO – hope you brought a good book …📚

📸: ESA

13/03/2026

It's time for another Mars Minutes! 🔴

This time, we're visiting the Trouvelot Crater – one of Mars' oldest, named after astronomer, artist and entomologist Étienne Léopold Trouvelot. 👩‍🏫

The HRSC camera captured striking dark, almost purple deposits across the crater surface, theorised to be volcanic. But even more intriguing is the bright hill at its centre. Spectroscopic studies suggest it's rich in clay and sulphur-bearing minerals, both of which form through water-driven processes. A remnant of an ancient crater lake, perhaps? 🏞️

We don't know yet... but it's a stunning sight regardless. 😌

If you enjoy these little excursions across Mars' surface, stick around – there's so much more to explore! 👀

Adresse

Linder Höhe
Cologne
51147

Telefon

+4922036010

Webseite

https://www.dlr.de/en/latest/news

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