From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE): “PtL tech­nol­o­gy plat­form – DLR re­search ad­dress­es the in­dus­tri­al pro­duc­tion of elec­tric­i­ty-based fu­els”

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE)

3.15.23

Visualization of the PtL Technology Platform. Credit: DLR.

Electricity-based fuels – also referred to as e-fuels or power-to-liquid fuels – will be able to make an important contribution to transitioning the energy, mobility and industrial sectors towards becoming climate and environmentally compatible.
In order to research and develop technologies for the production of electricity-based fuels on an industrial scale, DLR is planning to set up the PtL Technology Platform (TPP).
DLR will initially receive 12.7 million euros from the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport to launch the planning project.
Focus: Aeronautics, energy, climate-compatible flight, electricity-based fuels, SAF, fuels
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With the Technology Platform PtL (TPP), the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is taking a decisive step toward advancing technologies for the production of electricity-based fuels – also known as Power-to-Liquid fuels (PtL) or e-fuels – on an industrial scale. The aim of the project is to close the gap between development and industrial market ramp-up and support the market launch of these fuels. Electricity-based fuels, in addition to alternative propulsion systems and other possible improvements, are necessary to achieve ambitious climate protection targets, particularly in the mobility sector.

On 14 March 2023, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr; BMDV) announced that DLR was the successful candidate for the development of such a platform. For the planning phase of the PtL technology platform, DLR will receive approximately 12.7 million euros from the BMDV. Further funding for DLR for the subsequent implementation phase will be decided upon at the end of 2023.

“Electricity-based fuels are our best option for quickly and significantly reducing the climate and environmental impact of long-haul flights. We know how to achieve this and now we are getting started by bringing the necessary technologies from the laboratory into industrial application. The PtL Technology Platform is a crucial milestone for upscaling. It will contribute to securing the future of the industrial and mobility sectors in Germany and Europe,” said Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Chair of the DLR Executive Board.

Oliver Luksic, Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMDV, explained: “In order to advance e-fuels on the path towards market ramp-up, we need the concentrated expertise from theory and practice, from science and industry. To this end, we are relying on a demonstration platform on a semi-industrial scale. Here, participants along the entire supply chain can work hand in hand to scale up and optimize e-fuel technologies. I am pleased that we have been able to gain a networked and experienced research partner in DLR, which will set up the demonstration platform as a large-scale research facility and make it available to third parties.”

Largest research facility for the production of electricity-based fuels

The TPP will close the gap between research and industrial production. It will consist of two plant sections that complement one another. In the research section of the plant, DLR will test novel technologies and processes with other stakeholders from academia and industry. The researchers will conduct detailed scientific analyses and optimise individual components. The focus of the demonstration section will be on the operation of a semi-industrial plant for the production of electricity-based fuels with a capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes per year. This would make the TPP the world’s largest research facility in the field of electricity-based fuels. A modular design is planned for the demonstration section. This will allow different production methods and the technologies and the components they require to be investigated and compared in terms of their practicality. This is a particularly important step – not everything that works on a small scale in the laboratory can simply be scaled up for industrial production.

Focus on the entire process chain

The TPP’s range of topics extends from renewable energy as a source of electricity-based fuels, through to the certification and demonstration of the use of these fuels. The project relies on DLR’s comprehensive expertise along the entire process chain and its many years of experience in the areas of fuel design – the development of fuels with maximum performance and minimum climate and environmental impact – techno-economic analysis, the development of production methods, the integration of electricity-based fuels into the overall energy system, and the acquisition of application and emission measurements using specialized DLR research aircraft.

Fuel design – targeted fuel development also reduces effects not related to carbon dioxide

Electricity-based fuels have the potential not only to greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but also to significantly reduce non-carbon-dioxide effects. These include emissions of nitrogen oxides, soot particles and water vapour. In air transport, the non-carbon-dioxide effects are currently approximately twice as significant as the climate impact of the released carbon dioxide. Soot particles and water vapour, for example, can lead to the production of contrails in the atmosphere, which have an additional warming effect. “Electricity-based fuels offer another advantage in this context – fuel design. We can optimize the chemical composition of these fuels to ensure that their combustion process no longer produces soot or particulate matter, for example. This also improves the local air quality,” says the head of the TPP project, Manfred Aigner, from the DLR Institute of Combustion Technology in Stuttgart.
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What are electricity-based fuels?

Electricity-based fuels – also referred to as e-fuels or Power-to-Liquid (PtL) fuels – are liquids. To produce them, carbon is used, for example from the air, and hydrogen, which is obtained by means of electrolysis. If the electricity used is produced using renewable resources such as wind or solar energy, the fuels produced in this way are climate neutral. This means that they only release as much carbon dioxide during the combustion process as was previously captured during their manufacture.

In the long term, many mobility sectors will be dependent on large quantities of liquid energy sources. These include air transport and shipping in particular, but also vehicles that cannot be easily electrified because they are very heavy or have to cover long distances.

Another advantage of electricity-based fuels is that they can be transported, distributed, stored and used largely with existing infrastructure and vehicles or aircraft.
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About the project

DLR was chosen by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr; BMDV) to implement the Technology Platform PtL (TPP) through a competitive selection process. For the planning phase of the TTP, the BMDV is funding DLR with a total of 12.68 million euros. Approval of the main phase of the TPP project is planned for the end of 2023. The new technology platform for PtL fuels will be coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by the project management organisation VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH.

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The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space programme. DLR is also the umbrella organization for the nation’s largest project management agency.

DLR has approximately 10.000 employees at 30 locations in Germany. Institutes and facilities are spread over at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo 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 [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU). 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 The Technical University of Darmstadt [Technische Universität Darmstadt] (DE), The Hamburg University of Technology [Technische Universität Hamburg](DE), RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY [Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule(DE), The Technical University Dresden [Technische Universität Dresden](DE) and in Berlin-Adlershof, Braunschweig, Bremen, Cologne-Porz, Dortmund, Göttingen, Lampoldshausen/Stuttgart, Neustrelitz, and Oberpfaffenhofen over the past years. In the DLR School Labs, pupils can become acquainted with the practical aspects of natural and engineering sciences by conducting interesting experiments.

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. 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 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.

Planetary research

Mars Express

The European Space Agency [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU) Mars Express Orbiter.

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 analyze details no larger than 10 to 30 meters in three dimensions.

Rosetta and Philae

The European Space Agency [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU) legendary comet explorer Rosetta.

ESA Rosetta Philae Lander

The comet orbiter Rosetta is controlled from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), in Darmstadt, Germany. The DLR has provided the structure, thermal subsystem, flywheel, the Active Descent System (procured by DLR but made in Switzerland), 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) and the Braunschweig University of Technology the ROMAP instrument. The MPG Institute for Solar System Research [MPG Institut für Sonnensystemforschung](DE) made the payload engineering, eject mechanism, landing gear, anchoring harpoon, central computer, COSAC, APXS and other subsystems.

Dawn

The National Aeronautics and Space Agency/The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE) Dawn Spacecraft (2007-2018).

The framing cameras, provided by the MPG Institute for Solar System Research and the DLR, are the main imaging instruments of Dawn, a multi-destination space probe to the protoplanets 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres launched in 2007. The cameras offer resolutions of 17 m/pixel for Vesta and 66 m/pixel for Ceres. Because the framing cameras are vital for both science and navigation, the payload has two identical and physically separate cameras (FC1 & FC2) for redundancy, each with its own optics, electronics, and structure.

Human spaceflight

Columbus

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.

Spacelab, Shuttle, Mir, Soyuz

Germany has near ten astronauts and participates in ESA human space programs including flights of German astronauts aboard US Space Shuttles and Russian spacecraft. Besides missions under ESA and flights on Soyuz and Mir, two Space Shuttle missions with the European built Spacelab were fully funded and organizationally and scientifically controlled by Germany (like a separate few by ESA and one by Japan) with German astronauts on board as hosts and not guests. The first West German mission Deutschland 1 (Spacelab-D1, DLR-1, NASA designation STS-61-A) took place in 1985.

The second similar mission, Deutschland 2 (Spacelab-D2, DLR-2, NASA designation STS-55), was first planned for 1988, but then due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was delayed until 1993 when it became the first German human space mission after German reunification.

Earth-bound research and aeronautics

Remote sensing of the Earth

In remote sensing of the Earth, satellites 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, 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: it is used to measure temperatures, CO2 levels, particulate matter levels, rainforest deforestation and the radiation conditions of the Earth’s surface (land, oceans, polar ice).

TerraSAR-X

Terra Sar X-satellite.

The German Earth observation satellite TerraSAR-X was launched in June 2007. The objective of this five-year mission was 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). The sensor has a number of different modes of operation, with a maximum resolution of one meter, 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. 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 kilometers in size with a resolution of 1 to 16 meters.

Astronomical surveys

The Uppsala–DLR Trojan Survey (UDTS) was a search for asteroids near Jupiter in the 1990s, in collaboration with the Swedish Uppsala Astronomical Observatory. When it concluded there was another survey, the Uppsala–DLR Asteroid Survey, this time with a focus on Near Earth asteroids and both surveys discovered numerous objects.

Reusable launch systems

Suborbital Spaceplane

Studying a suborbital spaceplane, DLR conducted Falke prototype for Hermes spaceplane program, participates in non-realized Sanger II project and since 2005 work under the concept making fast intercontinental passenger transport possible. The SpaceLiner is a reusable vehicle lifting-off vertically and landing like a glider.

RETALT

DLR is a partner for RETALT (RETro Propulsion Assisted Landing Technologies), a program aiming to develop two-stage-to-orbit and single-stage to orbit reusable launch systems.

Aircraft design

DLR is involved in different European H2020 projects (AGILE, AGILE4.0) concerning aircraft design with the objective to improve multidisciplinary optimization using distributed analysis frameworks.

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 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 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 operated 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 was used as an airborne research platform. The aircraft was operated by the Dryden Flight Research Center at Site 9 (USAF Plant 42) in Palmdale, California. Observation flights were 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 was 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).

Emissions research

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 minimize 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.

Hydrogen as an energy carrier

The Hydrosol and Hydrosol-2 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 CO2 emissions. For this achievement, the DLR team and several other research groups received the Descartes Prize, a research award created by the European Commission. The FP6 Hydrosol II pilot reactor (around 100 kW) for solar thermochemical hydrogen production at the Plataforma Solar de Almería in Spain started in November 2005 and is in operation since 2008.

Traffic Congestion

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, 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. 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.

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE): “New re­search air­craft for cli­mate-friend­ly flight. New wind en­er­gy re­search farm and Green light for the Start­up Fac­to­ry”

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE)

3.1.23

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Flow simulation of a wind turbine. Credit: DLR.

DLR Falcon 20ED in the exhaust plume of an Airbus 350. Credit: Airbus.

The European Space Agency [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU) JUICE spacecraft depiction.

Delivery at DLR site in Bremen. Credit: DLR.
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DLR acts as a major research partner in the development of production facilities for sustainable aviation fuels up to industrial scale.
With extensive participation in international space missions to the Moon, Mars and Jupiter, DLR is advancing the exploration of the Solar System.
DLR is developing sustainable vehicle and mobility concepts and conducts research into the automated and networked driving of tomorrow.
The protection of terrestrial and maritime infrastructures is becoming increasingly important for security research.
Focus: Aeronautics, space, energy, transport, security, innovation and transfer
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In 2023, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) will provide significant research support for the development and rapid application of sustainable technologies. The aim is to make the best possible use of innovations in aeronautics, space, energy, transport, and security to transition towards a climate-neutral society. This is intended to strengthen Germany’s position as a prime location for green technologies. DLR’s cutting-edge research is expanding the boundaries of what is possible – from future sustainable mobility and energy generation to new insights through missions to the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter. In 2023, DLR will increasingly focus on testing new technologies for climate-friendly flight, open a research farm for new wind energy technologies and advance exploration of the Solar System with extensive participation in international space missions. In addition, DLR is increasingly involved in security research and is intensifying the creation of DLR spin-off companies with the Startup Factory.

“As a national research institution for aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security, DLR conducts research on behalf of society. In international cooperation with our partners in government and public authorities as well as industry and science, we are working on solutions for global challenges,” emphasises Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Chair of the DLR Executive Board. “Last year, DLR personnel achieved outstanding results in successful projects such as MARE on Artemis I. DLR’s aeronautics strategy was consistently implemented, particularly through cooperation with industry. New vehicle concepts and the development of our wind energy research farm are further examples of DLR’s application- and transfer-oriented research. With its expertise and commitment, the German Space Agency at DLR made the ESA Council Meeting at Ministerial Level a particular success for Germany. The provision and interpretation of satellite data for disaster relief using the airborne camera system MACS is part of DLR’s security research.” At the annual press conference on 1 March 2023, DLR presented the breadth of its research and activities with a focus on sustainability. Below you will find the priorities and research efforts for 2023 in aeronautics research, space research, the German Space Agency, energy research, transport research, security research and for innovation and transfer.

Focus on air transport

Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) significantly reduce the climate impact of air transport in terms of both its carbon dioxide footprint and non-carbon-dioxide effects. This year, DLR is again undertaking joint flight tests with Airbus and other industry partners, in which biobased SAFs are being tested, and their emissions analysed. In line with DLR’s Aviation Strategy, highly efficient turbofan engines and synthetically produced SAF (PtL, Power-to-Liquids) offer prospects for climate-friendly operation, particularly for medium- to long-haul flights. In the coming years, it will be crucial to develop production plants for sustainable kerosene on an industrial scale, and to test and then transfer them into commercial operation. DLR is acting as a major research partner in this process. There are many technological possibilities for making regional and short-haul aircraft climate-friendly in the future. Hydrogen in particular can play a role here – either as a sustainable fuel for direct combustion or for hybrid electric propulsion systems using fuel cells. In addition, technologies for increasing aerodynamic efficiency and reducing weight through new approaches in lightweight construction are important. In order to investigate the range of these diverse research questions for climate-compatible flight, DLR will increasingly conduct flight tests in cooperation with the air transport industry in 2023. The aim is to accelerate the development of sustainable aviation technologies.

Focus on spaceflight

Following their journey around the Moon with NASA’s Artemis I mission, the radiation measurement mannequins Helga and Zohar are back in Germany. The data from the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE) project, led by DLR, will provide a three-dimensional image of the radiation exposure of the female body during a lunar flight once they have been evaluated. On 9 March 2023, the two female astronaut phantoms will be presented to the media for the first time after their flight at the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Cologne. Zohar’s radiation protection vest and Helga’s suit were shown in advance at today’s annual press conference in Berlin. The Franco-German MMX rover is currently being prepared for its journey to the martian moon Phobos at the French space agency (Centre national d’études spatiales; CNES) in Toulouse after DLR’s extensive contributions. The launch towards Mars and its moons is planned for September 2024 as part of the Japanese Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. This summer, the rover will be delivered to the Japanese space agency (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency; JAXA) for integration into the MMX spacecraft. The launch to Jupiter for ESA’s largest spacecraft to date, JUICE (JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer), is planned for 13 April 2023. The target is the largest planet in the Solar System and its large icy moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa, under whose frozen surface oceans of liquid water are believed to exist. DLR’s Institute of Planetary Research played a major role in constructing two of the 10 scientific instruments. In the field of satellite navigation, the DLR Space Applications Institute mbH (DLR-GfR) and its partner Telespazio have reaffirmed their joint commitment to the European Galileo programme. Under the umbrella of the German-Italian joint venture spaceopal GmbH, the partners have been successfully and reliably operating the Galileo system together since 2016, including the Galileo control centres in Oberpfaffenhofen and Fucino. This cooperation is to be continued for the coming generations of Galileo satellites, with a view to making the system even more accurate, reliable and secure.

German Space Agency at DLR

The German Space Agency at DLR is managing the German contribution to the ESA science programme (20 percent) for the European Jupiter mission JUICE . It is also funding seven of 10 scientific instruments from the National Space Programme with approximately 100 million euros throughout the mission. JUICE will launch from Kourou on the penultimate Ariane 5 launcher. The ‘Heinrich Hertz’ communications satellite mission will set off into space On board the last Ariane 5 in the summer of 2023. This is first German communications satellite in over 20 years and is a test platform for satellite communications technologies. It carries more than 20 experiments from science and industry on board, which focus on communications, antennas, and satellite technology. Heinrich Hertz is financed by the German Space Agency at DLR with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz; BMWK) and with the participation of the Federal Ministry of Defence (Bundesministerium der Verteidigung; BMVg). The next steps in the German Space Agency’s microlauncher and payload competition are about to begin; in spring, the experiments for the final, fourth flight will be selected and announced. Meanwhile, the infrastructure for the small launch vehicles is being built at the launch sites in Andøya (Norway) and on the Shetland Islands (United Kingdom) by the already award-winning start-ups Isar Aerospace from Munich and Rocket Factory Augsburg.

Germany has held the ESA Chair at Ministerial Level since the ESA Council Meeting at Ministerial Level in 2022; this will last for three years – until the end of 2025. The role is politically oriented and enables influence on the agenda of European space policy. Today, space is essential for the implementation of various policy areas, but at the same time, it is subject to change. The German Space Agency at DLR in Bonn supports the Federal Government in implementing this task. The main topics from a German perspective are green and sustainable spaceflight, strengthening private-sector approaches in ESA and Europe, the reorganisation of the future launcher sector, cooperation between ESA and the EU in spaceflight, and the future of Europe in international exploration. A high-level ESA-EU Space Council (Space Summit) is scheduled to take place in Seville in autumn 2023.

Focus on energy

In the energy sector, DLR researchers are focusing in particular on developing and testing new rotor blades and technologies for wind energy [above]. The Wind Energy Research Farm, which DLR is building together with the Research Alliance for Wind Energy, and will be opened in the summer, also serves this purpose. The production of climate-compatible fuels (SAF) using renewable energies is also at the centre of research efforts. To this end, DLR is researching production technologies to close the gap between development and industrial market ramp-up of these fuels and thus support their market launch. The focus is on air transport and shipping.

Focus on transport

Transport research is currently focusing on sustainable vehicle and mobility concepts as well as automated and networked driving. To this end, DLR will be represented, among other things, with the unique U-Shift vehicle prototype at the Federal Garden Show 2023 in Mannheim.

New vehicle concept U-shift. Credit: DLR.

For more than half a year, this futuristic vehicle concept – which is completely reshaping the world of urban passenger and freight transport – will be available to experience in research operations. New technologies for the train of the future are another focus. Here, among other things, further investigations into the air-conditioning of rail vehicles are being carried out.

Focus on security

After the severe earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, DLR supported the rescue teams on the ground with situational information from satellite data and aerial photographs. A team from DLR’s Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (Zentrum für satellitengestützte Kriseninformation; ZKI) in Oberpfaffenhofen analysed satellite images around the clock in order to provide the rescue teams with digital maps of the current situation on the ground. For this purpose, DLR provided a new type of camera (Modular Aerial Camera System; MACS) for situational awareness on site. During the mission, DLR staff operated a drone to send aerial images from the built-in MACS-nano camera system as a map directly to the United Nations (UN) Incident Command and Management System (ICMS) for the first time. In addition to disaster relief, protecting maritime and terrestrial infrastructure is becoming increasingly important in security research. DLR is strengthening its activities in this area with the further expansion of the DLR Institute for the Protection of Terrestrial Infrastructures in Sankt Augustin and the DLR Institute for the Protection of Maritime Infrastructures in Bremerhaven.

In the field of defense research, space is becoming increasingly important as an operational area. The security and functionality of a modern information society and its defense depend on unhindered access to space-based information and communications paths.

Responsive Space Cluster Competence Center. Graphic representation. Credit: DLR.

In this context, DLR, funded by the Ministry of Defense, is further expanding its research activities in this area with the Responsive Space Cluster Competence Center in Trauen. The responsive deployment and replacement of satellites and strengthening the resilience of space-based systems and services (Responsive Space) are becoming increasingly important – both in Germany and in Europe, and especially in the USA. DLR’s site in Trauen, funded by the state of Lower Saxony, is providing significant incentives for developing a national Responsive Space capability (embedded in the EU and NATO) in collaboration with industry and national and international partners.

Innovation and technology transfer – driving forces for tomorrow’s society

As a publicly funded institution, DLR receives considerable support from government, industry and society and would like to give even more back. The way to do this is by transferring expertise and technologies from research to industry. To achieve this, the 10,000 personnel at DLR think about possible future applications, for example in innovative products, right from the start. DLR is continuously intensifying its efforts in this area. Spin-offs are an important factor for knowledge and technology transfer from DLR. These are actively promoted and supported. Many years of experience show that 90 percent of DLR spin-offs survive in the market over the long term. In order to become even more successful in this area, DLR is establishing the Startup Factory, a systematic programme to promote and develop its spin-offs.

See the full article here.

Comments are invited and will be appreciated, especially if the reader finds any errors which I can correct. Use “Reply”.

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Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space programme. DLR is also the umbrella organization for the nation’s largest project management agency.

DLR has approximately 10.000 employees at 30 locations in Germany. Institutes and facilities are spread over at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo 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 [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU). 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 The Technical University of Darmstadt [Technische Universität Darmstadt] (DE), The Hamburg University of Technology [Technische Universität Hamburg](DE), RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY [Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule(DE), The Technical University Dresden [Technische Universität Dresden](DE) and in Berlin-Adlershof, Braunschweig, Bremen, Cologne-Porz, Dortmund, Göttingen, Lampoldshausen/Stuttgart, Neustrelitz, and Oberpfaffenhofen over the past years. In the DLR School Labs, pupils can become acquainted with the practical aspects of natural and engineering sciences by conducting interesting experiments.

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. 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 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.

Planetary research

Mars Express

The European Space Agency [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU) Mars Express Orbiter.

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 analyze details no larger than 10 to 30 meters in three dimensions.

Rosetta and Philae

The European Space Agency [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU) legendary comet explorer Rosetta.

ESA Rosetta Philae Lander

The comet orbiter Rosetta is controlled from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), in Darmstadt, Germany. The DLR has provided the structure, thermal subsystem, flywheel, the Active Descent System (procured by DLR but made in Switzerland), 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) and the Braunschweig University of Technology the ROMAP instrument. The MPG Institute for Solar System Research [MPG Institut für Sonnensystemforschung](DE) made the payload engineering, eject mechanism, landing gear, anchoring harpoon, central computer, COSAC, APXS and other subsystems.

Dawn

The National Aeronautics and Space Agency/The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE) Dawn Spacecraft (2007-2018).

The framing cameras, provided by the MPG Institute for Solar System Research and the DLR, are the main imaging instruments of Dawn, a multi-destination space probe to the protoplanets 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres launched in 2007. The cameras offer resolutions of 17 m/pixel for Vesta and 66 m/pixel for Ceres. Because the framing cameras are vital for both science and navigation, the payload has two identical and physically separate cameras (FC1 & FC2) for redundancy, each with its own optics, electronics, and structure.

Human spaceflight

Columbus

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.

Spacelab, Shuttle, Mir, Soyuz

Germany has near ten astronauts and participates in ESA human space programs including flights of German astronauts aboard US Space Shuttles and Russian spacecraft. Besides missions under ESA and flights on Soyuz and Mir, two Space Shuttle missions with the European built Spacelab were fully funded and organizationally and scientifically controlled by Germany (like a separate few by ESA and one by Japan) with German astronauts on board as hosts and not guests. The first West German mission Deutschland 1 (Spacelab-D1, DLR-1, NASA designation STS-61-A) took place in 1985.

The second similar mission, Deutschland 2 (Spacelab-D2, DLR-2, NASA designation STS-55), was first planned for 1988, but then due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was delayed until 1993 when it became the first German human space mission after German reunification.

Earth-bound research and aeronautics

Remote sensing of the Earth

In remote sensing of the Earth, satellites 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, 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: it is used to measure temperatures, CO2 levels, particulate matter levels, rainforest deforestation and the radiation conditions of the Earth’s surface (land, oceans, polar ice).

TerraSAR-X

The German Earth observation satellite TerraSAR-X was launched in June 2007.

Terra Sar X-satellite.

The objective of this five-year mission was 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). The sensor has a number of different modes of operation, with a maximum resolution of one meter, 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. 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 kilometers in size with a resolution of 1 to 16 meters.

Astronomical surveys

The Uppsala–DLR Trojan Survey (UDTS) was a search for asteroids near Jupiter in the 1990s, in collaboration with the Swedish Uppsala Astronomical Observatory. When it concluded there was another survey, the Uppsala–DLR Asteroid Survey, this time with a focus on Near Earth asteroids and both surveys discovered numerous objects.

Reusable launch systems

Suborbital Spaceplane

Studying a suborbital spaceplane, DLR conducted Falke prototype for Hermes spaceplane program, participates in non-realized Sanger II project and since 2005 work under the concept making fast intercontinental passenger transport possible. The SpaceLiner is a reusable vehicle lifting-off vertically and landing like a glider.

RETALT

DLR is a partner for RETALT (RETro Propulsion Assisted Landing Technologies), a program aiming to develop two-stage-to-orbit and single-stage to orbit reusable launch systems.

Aircraft design

DLR is involved in different European H2020 projects (AGILE, AGILE4.0) concerning aircraft design with the objective to improve multidisciplinary optimization using distributed analysis frameworks.

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 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 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 operated 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 was used as an airborne research platform. The aircraft was operated by the Dryden Flight Research Center at Site 9 (USAF Plant 42) in Palmdale, California. Observation flights were 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 was 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).

Emissions research

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 minimize 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.

Hydrogen as an energy carrier

The Hydrosol and Hydrosol-2 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 CO2 emissions. For this achievement, the DLR team and several other research groups received the Descartes Prize, a research award created by the European Commission. The FP6 Hydrosol II pilot reactor (around 100 kW) for solar thermochemical hydrogen production at the Plataforma Solar de Almería in Spain started in November 2005 and is in operation since 2008.

Traffic Congestion

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, 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. 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.

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE): “From Eu­rope to Jupiter via Kourou”

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE)

1.20.23

JUICE-ESA’s Jupiter Mission. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab. NASA/JPL-Caltech /DLR Jupiter and moons.

Galilean Moons. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech /DLR.

The Ganymede Laser Altimeter. Credit: Hensoldt Optronics.

GALA central units. Credit: DLR.

The JANUS camera system. Credit: LDO.

Preparations for the journey to Kourou. Credit: AIRBUS 2022/Jean Baptiste ACCARIEZ/Master Films.
________________________________________________________________________
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft is in Toulouse being prepared for transport to Europe’s spaceport in Kourou. The spacecraft is scheduled for launch in April on an Ariane 5 launcher.
After arriving in the Jupiter system in July 2031, JUICE will study the planet and its icy moons from orbit, first around Jupiter and later around Ganymede.
DLR is providing the Ganymede Laser Altimeter (GALA) and significant contributions to the JANUS camera. The German Space Agency at DLR provides funding to a total of seven instruments on JUICE.
Focus: Jupiter, icy moons, exploration, search for life
________________________________________________________________________
“Trois, deux, un – et décollage!” This is how the last three seconds will be counted down in the control centre in Kourou, French Guiana, this April before one of the last Ariane 5 launch vehicles lifts off from Europe’s Spaceport. The target of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) largest planetary mission to date is Jupiter and its large icy moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) will study them up close from 2031 onwards. Under their icy crust, the moons could likely harbour oceans in which life could possibly exist. The Institute of Planetary Research at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) played a major role in the construction of two of the ten scientific instruments. The German Space Agency at DLR manages the German ESA contributions to JUICE on behalf of the German government and will provide approximately 100 million euros of funding across seven of the spacecraft’s instruments over the life of the mission.

By air to South America

JUICE must first be transported from Europe to South America. At present, the spacecraft, which has not yet been fuelled and weighs approximately 2400 kilograms empty, is located at the industrial prime contractor, Airbus Defence and Space, in Toulouse, southern France. There it was presented to the media on 20 January 2023 before being packed for transport to Kourou on an Antonov cargo aircraft. The transport across the Atlantic will take place in early February. In Kourou, the spacecraft will then be placed on the Ariane 5 ECA launcher and encased in a protective fairing. When fuelled, the JUICE spacecraft will weigh 6.1 tonnes. The launch window for the eight-year journey to Jupiter opens in April.

JUICE is the first L-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision programme, where the L stands for Large. The aim of this programme is to improve our understanding of the Solar System, including how the planets formed and under what conditions life can develop – Earth being our only current example. JUICE is a large project with its extensive scientific payload. Its target is Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System. It is five times as far away from the Sun as Earth, has a diameter of 140,000 kilometres – ten times as large and 318 times as massive as our home planet – and is orbited by a total of 79 moons. Of these, the four largest – Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa – are of enormous scientific interest. They are referred to as the Galilean moons after their discoverer, Galileo Galilei (1564-1641).

Three ice worlds and a volcanic hellscape

Io, the innermost of the four, is so violently deformed by the planet’s tidal forces that magma is permanently formed in the rock mantle at temperatures of well over 1000 degrees Celsius. This molten rock is transported to the surface by enormous volcanoes. Sulphur-yellow Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. From the innermost outwards, the three satellites Europa, Ganymede and Callisto follow. Ganymede, with a diameter of 5262 kilometres, is the largest moon in the Solar System; Europa and Io, with diameters of less than 4000 kilometres, are about as large as Earth’s Moon; Callisto, with a diameter of 4821 kilometres, is the third largest moon in our planetary system.

It takes Europa twice as long as Io to orbit Jupiter; Ganymede four times as long. This means that these three moons repeatedly line up like a string of pearls. This creates resonance effects that, through interactions with the powerful gravitation and tidal forces emanating from Jupiter, generate heat in the interior of Europa and Ganymede. This causes enough heat to be present under their ice crusts, which are as cold as minus 160 degrees Celsius, which prevents water from freezing even at a distance of over 700 million kilometres from the Sun. This sustains deep layers of water, called subsurface oceans.

Oceans (and life?) under kilometre-thick ice crusts

In the case of Europa, it could be that the ocean under the ice crust, which is only a few kilometres thick, is more than 100 kilometres deep. This would mean that there is more water under the moon’s surface than in all the oceans on Earth combined. There could also be an ocean below the surface of Callisto; as with Ganymede, magnetic field measurements have provided clear indications here. Both Ganymede and Callisto could have several layers of water, but located at greater depths.

Water is a basic prerequisite for the emergence and development of life as we know it. It is therefore conceivable that, hidden from the view of observations made from space, life has developed in the subsurface oceans of Jupiter’s icy moons. JUICE will not be able to determine this, but it will be able to characterize the icy moons in more detail than NASA’s Voyager (flyby 1979) and Galileo (orbiter, 1995-2003) missions, as well as confirm the presence of the oceans, how deep they are, how much water they contain and which mineral substances could be dissolved in the water.

The JANUS camera maps Ganymede and Europa

One of the JUICE instruments that will be used to answer these and other questions is the JANUS camera system. The main task of JANUS is to photographically record and map Ganymede and Europa It is also intended to record and interpret the visible effects of tidal forces on the surfaces, which are responsible for the subcrustal oceans. This includes tectonic phenomena such as fissures and ridges or spectral changes caused by the presence of different minerals produced as a result of cryovolcanism.

For this purpose, the camera system has 13 spectral channels in the visible light and near infrared spectral ranges in addition to a high spatial resolution. Io, and many of the smaller moons, will also be observed from a distance. JANUS was developed in Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK, and parts of the hardware were built at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research.

Tracking the oceans with lasers

The Ganymede Laser Altimeter (GALA) will measure the tidal deformation of Ganymede’s ice crust to provide evidence for the existence of the global interior ocean. In addition, several million time-of-flight measurements will be used to produce a comprehensive map of the moon’s regional and local topography, which will be assembled into a global elevation model of Ganymede. This will allow us to understand the processes that shaped the unique surface of this icy moon. The tidal deformation of the satellite’s shape will also be determined using measurements taken at different times during Ganymede’s seven-day orbit around Jupiter. From the strength of the deformation at the different orbital points, the existence of the inner ocean can be proven, and the mechanical properties of the overlying ice layer determined.

The altimeter will also be used to acquire measurements of Europa and Callisto. While researchers hope to find evidence of water just below Europa’s surface, in the case of Callisto it is likely to be found in deeper layers. GALA was developed under DLR’s supervision, in collaboration with industrial partner HENSOLDT Optronics GmbH (Oberkochen) and research institutions from Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Spain. It will be the first time that such an instrument has been used in the outer Solar System.

Weather forecast for Jupiter and its moons

Another instrument from Germany on board JUICE is the Sub-millimetre Wave Instrument (SWI), which is the primary responsibility of the MPG Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen. It will be used to examine the middle atmospheric layers of the gas giant Jupiter as well as the extremely thin atmospheres – or more correctly, ‘exospheres’ – and surfaces of the Galilean moons. The focus will be on determining the thermal structure, dynamics and composition of the various layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere and how they interact, as well as Jupiter’s internal structure.

ESA mission with strong German participation

JUICE is the largest and most comprehensive ESA mission to explore a planetary system within the Solar System. NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have also contributed to the mission. ESA provides funding for the satellite platform, the Ariane 5 ECA launcher and the operation of the spacecraft. The funding for the scientific payloads for JUICE is largely provided by national space agencies and the participating institutes. In addition to the JANUS, SWI and GALA instruments, the German Space Agency at DLR is funding further German scientific contributions from the national space programme to the Particle Environment Package (PEP) particle spectrometer, the Jupiter Magnetometer (J-MAG), the Radar for Icy Moons Exploration (RIME) radar instrument and the 3GM instrument for radio sounding of Jupiter’s atmosphere.

JUICE will reach Jupiter in July 2031 and complete a total of 35 flybys of the moons by November 2035. In September 2034, the spacecraft will be steered into an elliptical, later circular, orbit around Ganymede. JUICE will be the first mission to orbit the moon of another planet. By the time the mission ends in September 2035, JUICE will have orbited Ganymede approximately 1250 times. Should fuel still be available, further orbits will take place at an altitude of just 200 kilometres, enabling measurements of a quality that would set the standard for decades to come. At the end of the mission, the spacecraft will be deliberately steered to crash into the surface of Ganymede and be completely destroyed in the collision with the rock-hard ice. As the suspected ocean inside Ganymede is estimated to be 100 kilometres deep and night temperatures below minus 160 degrees Celsius, there is no danger of contamination of Ganymede’s ocean by terrestrial microbes that might have traveled along on JUICE as ‘stowaways’.

See the full article here.

Comments are invited and will be appreciated, especially if the reader finds any errors which I can correct. Use “Reply”.

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space programme. DLR is also the umbrella organization for the nation’s largest project management agency.

DLR has approximately 10.000 employees at 30 locations in Germany. Institutes and facilities are spread over at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo 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 [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU). 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 The Technical University of Darmstadt [Technische Universität Darmstadt] (DE), The Hamburg University of Technology [Technische Universität Hamburg](DE), RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY [Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule(DE), The Technical University Dresden [Technische Universität Dresden](DE) and in Berlin-Adlershof, Braunschweig, Bremen, Cologne-Porz, Dortmund, Göttingen, Lampoldshausen/Stuttgart, Neustrelitz, and Oberpfaffenhofen over the past years. In the DLR School Labs, pupils can become acquainted with the practical aspects of natural and engineering sciences by conducting interesting experiments.

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. 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 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.

Planetary research

Mars Express

The European Space Agency [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU) Mars Express Orbiter.

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 analyze details no larger than 10 to 30 meters in three dimensions.

Rosetta and Philae

The European Space Agency [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU) legendary comet explorer Rosetta.

ESA Rosetta Philae Lander

The comet orbiter Rosetta is controlled from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), in Darmstadt, Germany. The DLR has provided the structure, thermal subsystem, flywheel, the Active Descent System (procured by DLR but made in Switzerland), 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) and the Braunschweig University of Technology the ROMAP instrument. The MPG Institute for Solar System Research [MPG Institut für Sonnensystemforschung](DE) made the payload engineering, eject mechanism, landing gear, anchoring harpoon, central computer, COSAC, APXS and other subsystems.

Dawn

The National Aeronautics and Space Agency/The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE) Dawn Spacecraft (2007-2018).

The framing cameras, provided by the MPG Institute for Solar System Research and the DLR, are the main imaging instruments of Dawn, a multi-destination space probe to the protoplanets 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres launched in 2007. The cameras offer resolutions of 17 m/pixel for Vesta and 66 m/pixel for Ceres. Because the framing cameras are vital for both science and navigation, the payload has two identical and physically separate cameras (FC1 & FC2) for redundancy, each with its own optics, electronics, and structure.

Human spaceflight

Columbus

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.

Spacelab, Shuttle, Mir, Soyuz

Germany has near ten astronauts and participates in ESA human space programs including flights of German astronauts aboard US Space Shuttles and Russian spacecraft. Besides missions under ESA and flights on Soyuz and Mir, two Space Shuttle missions with the European built Spacelab were fully funded and organizationally and scientifically controlled by Germany (like a separate few by ESA and one by Japan) with German astronauts on board as hosts and not guests. The first West German mission Deutschland 1 (Spacelab-D1, DLR-1, NASA designation STS-61-A) took place in 1985.

The second similar mission, Deutschland 2 (Spacelab-D2, DLR-2, NASA designation STS-55), was first planned for 1988, but then due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was delayed until 1993 when it became the first German human space mission after German reunification.

Earth-bound research and aeronautics

Remote sensing of the Earth

In remote sensing of the Earth, satellites 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, 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: it is used to measure temperatures, CO2 levels, particulate matter levels, rainforest deforestation and the radiation conditions of the Earth’s surface (land, oceans, polar ice).

TerraSAR-X

The German Earth observation satellite TerraSAR-X was launched in June 2007. The objective of this five-year mission was 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). The sensor has a number of different modes of operation, with a maximum resolution of one meter, 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. 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 kilometers in size with a resolution of 1 to 16 meters.

Astronomical surveys

The Uppsala–DLR Trojan Survey (UDTS) was a search for asteroids near Jupiter in the 1990s, in collaboration with the Swedish Uppsala Astronomical Observatory. When it concluded there was another survey, the Uppsala–DLR Asteroid Survey, this time with a focus on Near Earth asteroids and both surveys discovered numerous objects.

Reusable launch systems

Suborbital Spaceplane

Studying a suborbital spaceplane, DLR conducted Falke prototype for Hermes spaceplane program, participates in non-realized Sanger II project and since 2005 work under the concept making fast intercontinental passenger transport possible. The SpaceLiner is a reusable vehicle lifting-off vertically and landing like a glider.

RETALT

DLR is a partner for RETALT (RETro Propulsion Assisted Landing Technologies), a program aiming to develop two-stage-to-orbit and single-stage to orbit reusable launch systems.

Aircraft design

DLR is involved in different European H2020 projects (AGILE, AGILE4.0) concerning aircraft design with the objective to improve multidisciplinary optimization using distributed analysis frameworks.

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 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 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 operated 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 was used as an airborne research platform. The aircraft was operated by the Dryden Flight Research Center at Site 9 (USAF Plant 42) in Palmdale, California. Observation flights were 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 was 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).

Emissions research

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 minimize 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.

Hydrogen as an energy carrier

The Hydrosol and Hydrosol-2 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 CO2 emissions. For this achievement, the DLR team and several other research groups received the Descartes Prize, a research award created by the European Commission. The FP6 Hydrosol II pilot reactor (around 100 kW) for solar thermochemical hydrogen production at the Plataforma Solar de Almería in Spain started in November 2005 and is in operation since 2008.

Traffic Congestion

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, 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. 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.

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE): “Con­cen­trat­ing so­lar ther­mal tech­nol­o­gy ready for ef­fi­cient use in Ger­many”

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE)

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany.

12.14.22

Parabol­ic trough sys­tems Evo­ra Credit: Hugo Faria/Universidade de Evo­ra

Concentrating solar thermal systems can also be used in Germany to produce heat efficiently and cost-effectively.
In an interview, DLR Institute Director Robert Pitz-Paal provides insight into the possibilities and prerequisites of this technology for decarbonizing industrial process heat.
Focus: Energy, process heat, decarbonization industry, heat transition
____________________________________________________________________________

Concentrating solar thermal systems are still little known in Germany, although they are a highly efficient approach to producing heat from solar energy. In such a system, specialized mirrors arranged in different geometries are used to focus the Sun’s rays on a defined area, such as a circle or a line. This heats a heat transfer medium, which then flows through a heat exchanger. Concentrating solar thermal power plants, which are today primarily located within Earth’s sunbelt, use this heat to generate electricity. Alternatively, the energy from concentrated sunlight can be used for industrial processes. Another advantage is that heat can be stored much more efficiently than electricity.

In this interview, Robert Pitz-Paal, Director of the Institute of Solar Research at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), describes why concentrating solar thermal technology also has considerable potential for use in Germany and Central Europe.

Why could the use of concentrating solar thermal technologies also prove effective in Germany?

Robert Pitz-Paal: For a long time, it was assumed that concentrating solar collectors would not prove effective in Central Europe, because you need as much direct sunlight as possible, along with little cloud cover. New investigations and comparisons of different collectors have shown that this is not the case. In fact, they can be a cost-effective, efficient and carbon-free solution for achieving industrial process heat between 80 and 400 degrees Celsius, even in Central Europe. This temperature range would cover approximately half of the total required industrial heat. Even in Germany, such heat production would be possible at a price of well under 10 cents per kilowatt hour.

What conditions would this require? And which applications could benefit from it?

Pitz-Paal: The prerequisite is a sufficiently large collector field covering at least 10 000 square metres. The first such systems already exist: in Belgium, they produce industrial process heat, while in Denmark they supply local heating networks. The high price of gas and government support programmes for process heat are currently helping to make this technology economically viable in Germany. This means that we are starting from a point that is on a par with the situation in southern European countries several years ago. There are already several such facilities there. Sectors that could benefit from concentrating solar systems in Germany include the chemical and food industries, and local heating networks.

That sounds almost like a perfect remedy for our energy concerns, especially for industry.

Pitz-Paal: We have to move away from the idea that the entire industrial heat sector can be decarbonized with a single technology. Instead, we need a clever combination of different approaches. Concentrating solar systems can be part of this, as can green hydrogen and heat pumps specialised for very high temperatures, which use electricity from renewable resources. Research and industry must work together to find out which mix works best for the respective application.

What will it take for concentrating solar thermal energy to take off in process heat generation in Germany?

Pitz-Paal: Subsidies for energies based on fossil fuels, including the gas price cap, are currently leading to a certain hesitancy to switch to renewable technologies in industry. Looking to the long term, however, everyone is clear that we have to take this step. For the time being, the fact that concentrating solar systems can also prove technologically and economically sensible in Germany remains largely unknown. What we need now are a handful of demonstration projects and pilot plants, so that we can show that this technology works and showcase the possibilities it offers.

Politicians have already provided us with some of the means and funding necessary to achieve this. DLR contributes technological expertise, ideas and contacts with manufacturers. Together, we are now capable of generating knowledge, new technology and high-quality jobs here in Germany. Of course, we are also subject to global competition. China is currently the largest market for large-scale concentrating solar thermal power plants for electricity generation, so we must keep up the momentum.

How is DLR contributing to the industrialization of concentrating solar technologies?

Pitz-Paal: Together with our partners from industry, we offer the best ways to develop innovative technology in Germany. We can help to make new technologies more efficient, more reliable, less expensive to produce and operate in all application areas – electricity, heat and fuels – and survive amid international competition. Such technologies may include advanced storage systems and heat exchangers. We are also working on harnessing recent developments in digitalisation and artificial intelligence to control collector arrays with high precision. DLR has unique large-scale research facilities that enable us to transfer concentrating solar systems from the laboratory to application, in conjunction with industry. These facilities include our solar towers and the Synlight solar simulator in Jülich and our partnership with the Plataforma Solar de Almeria, which is operated by the Spanish research institute CIEMAT. For 40 years now, we have been working together to demonstrate that concentrating solar technology fundamentally works. During this time, the expertise and experience we have acquired have seen us adopt a pioneering role in the field. We are proud that innovations from DLR have flowed into more than 90 percent of all commercial solar thermal power plants for electricity production, often via our spin-offs. Through these partnerships, we are continuing to develop the technology in a targeted way, as feedback from industrial practice shows us what we should focus on in our research.

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Stem Education Coalition

The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space programme. DLR is also the umbrella organization for the nation’s largest project management agency.

DLR has approximately 10.000 employees at 30 locations in Germany. Institutes and facilities are spread over at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo 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 [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU). 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 The Technical University of Darmstadt [Technische Universität Darmstadt] (DE), The Hamburg University of Technology [Technische Universität Hamburg](DE), RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY [Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule(DE), The Technical University Dresden [Technische Universität Dresden](DE) and in Berlin-Adlershof, Braunschweig, Bremen, Cologne-Porz, Dortmund, Göttingen, Lampoldshausen/Stuttgart, Neustrelitz, and Oberpfaffenhofen over the past years. In the DLR School Labs, pupils can become acquainted with the practical aspects of natural and engineering sciences by conducting interesting experiments.

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. 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 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.

Planetary research

Mars Express

The European Space Agency [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU) Mars Express Orbiter.

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 analyze details no larger than 10 to 30 meters in three dimensions.

Rosetta and Philae

The European Space Agency [La Agencia Espacial Europea] [Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganization](EU) legendary comet explorer Rosetta.

ESA Rosetta Philae Lander

The comet orbiter Rosetta is controlled from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), in Darmstadt, Germany. The DLR has provided the structure, thermal subsystem, flywheel, the Active Descent System (procured by DLR but made in Switzerland), 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) and the Braunschweig University of Technology the ROMAP instrument. The MPG Institute for Solar System Research [MPG Institut für Sonnensystemforschung](DE) made the payload engineering, eject mechanism, landing gear, anchoring harpoon, central computer, COSAC, APXS and other subsystems.

Dawn

The National Aeronautics and Space Agency/The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE) Dawn Spacecraft (2007-2018).

The framing cameras, provided by the MPG Institute for Solar System Research and the DLR, are the main imaging instruments of Dawn, a multi-destination space probe to the protoplanets 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres launched in 2007. The cameras offer resolutions of 17 m/pixel for Vesta and 66 m/pixel for Ceres. Because the framing cameras are vital for both science and navigation, the payload has two identical and physically separate cameras (FC1 & FC2) for redundancy, each with its own optics, electronics, and structure.

Human spaceflight

Columbus

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.

Spacelab, Shuttle, Mir, Soyuz

Germany has near ten astronauts and participates in ESA human space programs including flights of German astronauts aboard US Space Shuttles and Russian spacecraft. Besides missions under ESA and flights on Soyuz and Mir, two Space Shuttle missions with the European built Spacelab were fully funded and organizationally and scientifically controlled by Germany (like a separate few by ESA and one by Japan) with German astronauts on board as hosts and not guests. The first West German mission Deutschland 1 (Spacelab-D1, DLR-1, NASA designation STS-61-A) took place in 1985.

The second similar mission, Deutschland 2 (Spacelab-D2, DLR-2, NASA designation STS-55), was first planned for 1988, but then due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was delayed until 1993 when it became the first German human space mission after German reunification.

Earth-bound research and aeronautics

Remote sensing of the Earth

In remote sensing of the Earth, satellites 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, 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: it is used to measure temperatures, CO2 levels, particulate matter levels, rainforest deforestation and the radiation conditions of the Earth’s surface (land, oceans, polar ice).

TerraSAR-X

The German Earth observation satellite TerraSAR-X was launched in June 2007. The objective of this five-year mission was 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). The sensor has a number of different modes of operation, with a maximum resolution of one meter, 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. 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 kilometers in size with a resolution of 1 to 16 meters.

Astronomical surveys

The Uppsala–DLR Trojan Survey (UDTS) was a search for asteroids near Jupiter in the 1990s, in collaboration with the Swedish Uppsala Astronomical Observatory. When it concluded there was another survey, the Uppsala–DLR Asteroid Survey, this time with a focus on Near Earth asteroids and both surveys discovered numerous objects.

Reusable launch systems

Suborbital Spaceplane

Studying a suborbital spaceplane, DLR conducted Falke prototype for Hermes spaceplane program, participates in non-realized Sanger II project and since 2005 work under the concept making fast intercontinental passenger transport possible. The SpaceLiner is a reusable vehicle lifting-off vertically and landing like a glider.

RETALT

DLR is a partner for RETALT (RETro Propulsion Assisted Landing Technologies), a program aiming to develop two-stage-to-orbit and single-stage to orbit reusable launch systems.

Aircraft design

DLR is involved in different European H2020 projects (AGILE, AGILE4.0) concerning aircraft design with the objective to improve multidisciplinary optimization using distributed analysis frameworks.

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 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 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 operated 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 was used as an airborne research platform. The aircraft was operated by the Dryden Flight Research Center at Site 9 (USAF Plant 42) in Palmdale, California. Observation flights were 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 was 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).

Emissions research

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 minimize 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.

Hydrogen as an energy carrier

The Hydrosol and Hydrosol-2 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 CO2 emissions. For this achievement, the DLR team and several other research groups received the Descartes Prize, a research award created by the European Commission. The FP6 Hydrosol II pilot reactor (around 100 kW) for solar thermochemical hydrogen production at the Plataforma Solar de Almería in Spain started in November 2005 and is in operation since 2008.

Traffic Congestion

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, 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. 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.

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE): “The fu­ture mar­ket for small satel­lites”

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE)

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany.

12.2.22

Small satellites (satellites weighing up to 500 kilograms) are highly versatile and can be used in a variety of ways – for telecommunications services, Earth observation and climate research or testing new technologies in space.
They can be produced in large quantities, which makes them more economical and faster to manufacture than conventional satellites and opens up a wide range of new opportunities for commercial services and science.
Small satellites are considered to be one of the main drivers of the dynamic future market for spaceflight, especially with regard to ‘New Space’ – the commercialization of spaceflight.
Focus: Space, commercialization, New Space, support for SMEs

The German federal government has launched the Small Satellite Initiative with the aim of consolidating the German space industry and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially start-ups, actively involved in the small satellite sector. The Bundestag allocated 10 million euros for this purpose in 2022. On 6 December 2022, representatives from industry, research and politics will meet in Berlin to discuss how the field of small satellites in Germany can form part of the framework of the government’s new space strategy. The conference, which was organized by the German Space Agency at DLR and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), also will award prizes to the winners of the German Space Agency at DLR’s Microlauncher Payload Competition.

Germany’s Small Satellite Initiative – promoting commercialization and research

“New Space applications using small satellites offer immense potential for improving life on this planet and preserving our environment,” explains Anna Christmann, Member of the of the Federal Parliament and Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy. “Due to their higher cost efficiency and lower use of resources, small satellites make it possible to acquire data from space on a larger scale and thus enable more downstream applications. Right now, it is incumbent upon us to develop the market for this technology in Germany and across Europe through our small satellite strategy. To do this, we are bringing together stakeholders from across the spectrum of research, start-ups, SMEs and industry.”

The aim is to consolidate Germany’s status as a location for small satellite technology through a programme with several focal points. This includes holding competitions for the development of new small satellite platforms and low-cost ride-along options, the targeted promotion of small satellite technology at universities, SMEs and start-ups, and the improvement of technology transfer from research institutes and universities to industry. Missions that test new technologies in space will also be carried out on a regular basis. With the increasing demand for small satellites, the expansion of capacity for series production, the development of technologies to avoid collisions with fragments of space debris, and the qualification of existing electrical, electronic and electromechanical (EEE) components such as those from the automotive industry for use in space are also increasingly important.

Microlauncher Payload Competition – ride-along options for small satellites

Technological excellence and cost-efficient value creation processes are the basis for positioning oneself successfully in the dynamic and growing small satellite market. Start-ups and SMEs play an essential role here due to their agility,” says Walther Pelzer, Member of the DLR Executive Board and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR. “The reliable prospect of public contracts helps young companies in particular to secure funding. Our microlauncher and payload competitions are key elements here,” adds Pelzer, referring to the role of the state as an anchor customer.

During the conference in Berlin, the 17 winners of the DLR Payload Competition will also be announced. Their small satellite technologies will receive a free ride on the microlaunchers (small launch vehicles) produced by space companies Isar Aerospace Technologies GmbH and Rocket Factory Augsburg AG. Businesses, universities and research institutions from Germany and elsewhere in Europe that are looking to launch one or more small satellites for scientific or commercial missions and for testing technology in space were eligible to apply.

The Payload Competition is an integral part of the Microlauncher Competition run by the German Space Agency at DLR. The aim of this programme is to promote the commercialization of European space activities and improve the autonomy and competitiveness of the companies and research institutions working in the sector, especially those associated with smaller payloads.

The German start-ups Isar Aerospace Technologies GmbH (Spectrum carrier rocket), Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA One) and HyImpulse Technologies GmbH (SL1) made an impact at various phases of the Microlauncher Competition. The Spectrum and RFA One rockets were selected to carry out the four missions. Measuring just two metres across and 28 and 30 metres long respectively, they are designed to transport payloads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes, so they are ideal for launching small satellites.

Panel discussion. © DLR

Competition winners. © DLR

CubeSat winner award. © DLR

See the full article here .

Comments are invited and will be appreciated, especially if the reader finds any errors which I can correct. Use “Reply”.

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Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.] (DE) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space programme. DLR is also the umbrella organisation for the nation’s largest project management agency.

DLR has approximately 8000 employees at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo and Washington D.C.

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE): “En­MAP – Ready for sci­ence”

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE)

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany.

11.2.22
On 2 November 2022, the German environmental mission EnMAP completed its test phase and entered routine operations. The mission is managed by the German Space Agency at DLR in Bonn on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

EnMAP satellite annotated. Courtesy of DLR.

Users can now access the constantly growing EnMAP data archive and submit observation requests. The EnMAP mission data are free of charge.

The hyperspectral data offer new insights into a wide variety of application areas.

Focus: Space, Earth observation, climate change, environmental protection and nature conservation.
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Towards more sustainable agriculture

Tracking down “tell-tale methane plumes” with EnMAP

Insights into the world’s largest erosion crater

Monitoring water quality in Lake Constance from space
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Towards more sustainable agriculture

Agriculture plays an important role in our society for food provision, as well as for the supply of building materials and energy. EnMAP is opening up new possibilities for precision agriculture and agricultural monitoring. The data it gathers are of high spectral resolution and contain important information about the condition and health of crops. On 28 July 2022, during its commissioning phase, EnMAP acquired an image of the northern area of Munich. Using efficient algorithms and modern machine-learning techniques, researchers from the Department of Geography at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) were able to quantify and map biophysical and biochemical plant properties over large areas for the first time. The growing world population and the simultaneous impact of agriculture on the environment, for example concerning the emission of greenhouse gases, are driving the demand for agricultural production. Against this backdrop, these new data could be used in agricultural management systems to improve resource efficiency and support the sustainability of the required yield optimization.

Tracking down ‘tell-tale’ methane plumes with EnMAP

Fossil fuel production – primarily oil and gas extraction and coal mining – is responsible for a large share of anthropogenic methane emissions. They often appear as ‘methane plumes’ emitted by point sources. These relatively small surface elements release relatively large amounts of gas, leaving a tell-tale trail in the atmosphere. If this trace is detected quickly, the cause can be removed quickly, thereby significantly reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Spaceborne imaging spectrometers such as EnMAP provide the best means of monitoring these methane emissions on a global scale and over a wide area. The potential of the German environmental mission to map these methane plumes has already been confirmed by initial measurements made during the commissioning phase. On 6 October 2022, oil and gas production basins in the south of Turkmenistan were surveyed by EnMAP. Scientists from the Research Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA) of the Universitat Politècnica de València have discovered several active methane point sources in this region using derived EnMAP maps showing the increase in methane concentrations.

Insights into the geology of the world’s largest erosion crater

Israel’s Negev desert is home to the world’s largest crater formed by natural erosion – Makhtesh Ramon. Over the last 220 million years, softer rocks such as sandstone have eroded away from areas of harder types such as limestone and dolomite, washing them away and creating a unique crater. This national park, which is one of the driest areas on our planet, is a reservoir for fossils, primeval volcanic cones, magma fissures and chambers and fossilized coral reefs, but above all a tremendous variety of minerals, which are deposited there in the rock. Researchers are particularly interested in the geological units including sandstone, iron-oxide-rich rocks, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, clay minerals such as the phyllosilicate kaolinite, and plutonic crystalline rock units. The sandstone and the plutonic crystalline rock units that have ‘migrated’ to the surface are visible to the naked eye. But what is hidden underneath? How much rock and minerals are stored in the rock? And how are these units distributed? EnMAP helped researchers from the Remote Sensing Laboratory at Tel-Aviv University get to the bottom of these questions.

The data from the satellite’s commissioning phase, which was processed and provided by the DLR ground segment and processed together with the GFZ, gives a good foretaste of the high quality of the data we can expect during the operational phase. The researchers were able to distinguish very precisely between different rock types, such as dolomite and limestone, and minerals, such as clays and sulphates, as well as variations within mineral types within a strip of 40 by 7 kilometres. This offered a better picture of the quantity and distribution of mapped units compared to data acquired from the air and the ground. This knowledge would not have been possible without hyperspectral EnMAP images from space.

Monitoring water quality in Lake Constance from space

Lake Constance is the largest drinking water reservoir in Europe and provides water for millions of people. But in July and August 2022, the lake reached a low point due to a long drought characteristic of the modern age of climate change. On 9 August 2022, a very low water level of only 3.05 metres was registered in Constance – only four centimetres above the seasonal record. The consequence is that shallower the water, the faster it warms up. As a result, sediments were washed up to the water surface in some places and green algae carpets formed on a vast scale.

These carpets grow particularly quickly where there are many nutrients, and the water warms up a lot. To get an overview of the excessive algae growth, EnMAP took a close look at Lake Constance and its chlorophyll-a concentration from space on 1 August 2022, during its commissioning phase. The data on this important plant pigment, evaluated by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), provide information on photosynthesis and thus on algae growth. The data sets on the distribution and productivity of various phytoplankton groups acquired using the satellite are extremely valuable for monitoring the quality of inland waters and their use as a source of water and food, as well as a recreational area.

EnMAP – the German environmental mission and its partners

The EnMAP mission is being managed by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) in Bonn on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz; BMWK). OHB System AG was contracted to develop and build the satellite and the hyperspectral instruments. The GeoForschungszentrum Potsdam (GeoForschungsZentrum; GFZ) in Potsdam is the science Principal Investigator for the mission.

Three DLR institutes and facilities have been commissioned for the construction and operation of the ground segment. The German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen will conduct and monitor satellite operations, while the German Remote Sensing Data Center and the DLR Remote Sensing Technology Institute will archive, process and validate the received satellite data and make them available to the scientific community. Companies and public authorities will also test the data and use them to prepare future services. The use of EnMAP hyperspectral data by universities and scientific institutions and the development of special applications will be supported by BMWK funding programmes.

More information at http://www.dlr.de/enmap_en and http://www.enmap.org

See the full article here .

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Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.] (DE) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space programme. DLR is also the umbrella organisation for the nation’s largest project management agency.

DLR has approximately 8000 employees at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo and Washington D.C.

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE): “New op­ti­cal ground sta­tion in­au­gu­rat­ed at DLR’s site in Oberp­faf­fen­hofen”

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE)

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Optical ground station

New telescope

In future, laser communication will be an indispensable tool for fast and secure data links via satellite.
The diverse possibilities of optical free-space communication can now be tested and further developed with a newly expanded ground station at the DLR site in Oberpfaffenhofen.
The technology enables data rates in the terabit range, the use of quantum communication technologies and high-precision satellite navigation systems.
Focus: Space, communications, navigation, Earth observation
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Satellites are increasingly becoming network nodes of the internet. Terrestrial nodes are integrated via fibre optic networks, and satellites can only keep up with current developments on the ground if they are also optically networked. European Commission programmes such as the ‘Secure Connectivity Initiative’ depend on this technology, as do many commercial networks such as Starlink or Oneweb, which aim to deploy similar developments on their next generation of satellites. At the core of this technology are optical satellite links, which have been designed, developed and tested at the Institute of Communications and Navigation of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) for more than 20 years. In addition to communications networks, optical links are also being considered for the deployment of quantum secure communications. This would improve the security of the internet and of next generation of satellite navigation systems in the future. DLR has operated experimental ground stations to advance these technologies for many years. On 12 October 2022, a new, more powerful ground station was inaugurated at DLR’s Oberpfaffenhofen site.

“In the future, it will become increasingly important to efficiently network satellites with each other and to exchange data securely and efficiently with the ground,” says Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Chair of the DLR Executive Board. “This is driven by the ever-increasing data volumes involved in communications, navigation and Earth observation activities, as well as by the increasingly scarcity of radiocommunications licences. Free-space optical communication offers a promising alternative here. The newly expanded ground station in Oberpfaffenhofen will make it possible to test and further develop its numerous applications. Satellite-based quantum communication solutions will be particularly important for users that need to exchange sensitive data securely, such as those involved in critical space-based and Earth-bound infrastructure.” The centrepiece of the new optical ground station is a new telescope with a diameter of 80 centimetres. The telescope is a Coudé focus telescope, in which the light collected by the telescope is guided via mirrors directly into a laboratory below. This makes it possible to conduct new experiments that could not be carried out before.

Optical Ground Station Oberpfaffenhofen OGSOP. Credit: DLR

Data transmission at terabit speed

The atmosphere represents a special challenge for optical connections between satellites and receiving stations on the ground, such as those used to connect communication satellites to the internet or to transmit data from Earth observation satellites to their data processing centres. Temperature fluctuations in the atmosphere lead to distortion of the optical satellite signals, which can cause transmission errors.

The new ground station makes it possible to investigate these phenomena more precisely than before in order to develop methods for error-free transmission even under difficult conditions. With this in mind, the work at the DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation aims to both improve signal reception on the ground and to ‘pre-distort’ the ground station’s transmission signals in such a way that they reach the satellite as undisturbed as possible. In ground-based tests, the Institute was able to achieve a transmission rate of 1.72 terabits per second in 2016 and a transmission rate of 13.2 terabits per second in 2017. This data rate would be sufficient to supply the entirety of Western Europe with a fast internet connection. With the new ground station, such tests will now also be carried out with satellites.

Quantum keys from space

The ability to precisely correct satellite signals is also a fundamental prerequisite for efficiently distributing quantum keys from space. The DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation has carried out successful preliminary work here, and, together with the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), conducted successful transmission tests from an aircraft to the ground in 2013. Quantum keys will be used in the future to secure encrypted terrestrial transmission in such a way that they can withstand attacks by quantum computers. “Such proven communication security is essential, especially for users such as government agencies and authorities, banks, and insurance and industrial companies,” says Susann Groß, Head of DLR’s Programme Space R&D.

More precise navigation with optical satellite links

Satellite navigation systems such as the European Galileo and the American GPS are already indispensable infrastructures in everyday life and for our economies. The satellites in these constellations transmit precise time signals. If the receiver receives this information from at least four satellites and the satellites’ orbits are precisely known, the clocks can be correctly synchronised, and the receiver can use it to determine their exact position. Today, synchronizing the time signals from the satellites and determining the satellites’ orbits require a complex process based on measurements from a large number of sensor stations on the ground. At DLR, a new approach known as ‘Kepler’ has been developed, which uses optical links between navigation satellites. These optical links are used to directly synchronize the satellites and to precisely determine their orbits using only two ground stations. This not only leads to a significant simplification of the system, but also to a greatly improved accuracy.

“The highly precise location data provided by the Kepler approach has significant potential for use in the automation of traffic on the ground,” says Anke Pagels-Kerp, DLR Divisional Board Member for Space. The system would also be resilient to disturbances that are deliberately brought about today in regions of war and crisis, for example. In this context, the new ground station will provide valuable contributions to the validation of DLR concepts.

Technology transfer

The DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation is one of the world’s leading research facilities for the development of free-space optical communication links. Companies located close to the Institute, such as TESAT Spacecom in Backnang and the spin-off Mynaric, have become important firms in the sector. The new ground station will help to maintain and further develop the strong position of German industry.

See the full article here .

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.] (DE) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space programme. DLR is also the umbrella organisation for the nation’s largest project management agency.

DLR has approximately 8000 employees at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo and Washington D.C.

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE): “Two par­ti­cles? Three par­ti­cles!”

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE)

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany.

9.27.22

Three-par­ti­cle state and X-rays. Credit: ©TU Dortmund

Fig. 1: Multi-triplon states in spin ladders.

a The spins S = 1/2 at each vertex of the ladder are coupled by leg (Jleg), and rung (Jrung), couplings. The black arrows indicate spin-up and the red arrows indicate spin-down. b For Jleg = 0, the spins on each rung form singlets (blue ellipses) in the ground state and local S = 1 triplet excitations (orange ellipsis). c Non-local triplons (wide orange ellipse) are the elementary excitations in spin ladders. They exist in the ΔS = 1 sector and can be detected via inelastic neutron scattering. d Two-triplon interactions lead to the formation of two-triplon bound states (red double ellipse) in the ΔS = 0, 1 sectors. e Three-triplon interactions are strong enough to form three-triplon bound states in the ΔS = 0 sector. f n-strings of triplons can emerge; they are predicted in strongly frustrated spin ladders with additional diagonal couplings (not shown) in each plaquette.

Fig. 2: Origin of three-triplon interactions.

The term is depicted in real space at dimer r and interdimer distances δ,δ′,δ′′; note that this term arises in any dimension and for any lattice model with finite dimensional local degrees of freedom. Finite x implies hopping, pair creation and annihilation processes during the renormalization by CUT. The blue arrows indicate the incoming triplons, red the scattered triplons and the black arrows internal triplon propagation. For normal bosons (a), the combined process is single-particle irreducible and corresponds to an effective hopping. For triplons (b), the hard-core constraint (black circles) induces three-triplon interactions in leading order x^3.

More instructive images are available in the science paper.
__________________________________________________________________

International team finds magnetic three-particle state in high-temperature superconductor.
Binding force of particles differs from previously known mechanisms.
X-rays should provide experimental proof.
Discovery could be a basis for topological quantum computers considered resistant to decoherence.
Focus: Digitalization, quantum mechanics, quantum computing, technology, fundamental research.
__________________________________________________________________
In its simplest form, two charged particles that either repel or attract one another are enough to explain the world. Molecules and large solids, for example, are based on this physical interaction between an ion and an electron. Now, researchers have discovered a three-particle state – or more precisely they have predicted its existence in a special material. The researchers from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), TU Dortmund University and the DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory have also shown that X-rays could be used to detect this three-particle state in an experiment. In the future, their magnetic three-particle state could even evolve into a technology for use in quantum computers.

“The prediction of these three-particle states is crucial because their binding power differs fundamentally from the previously known mechanisms,” says Benedikt Fauseweh, Group Leader at the DLR Institute for Software Technology in Cologne. “The discovery increases the probability that we will find even more exotic states, such as entire strings of magnetic excitations.” The strings could later be ‘linked’ to qubits – the computational building blocks of quantum computers. The information would be stored in the individual strings and the computing operations would then be carried out by braiding the strings. These braids are exceptionally stable in the quantum world. That is why topological quantum computers based on this fundamental idea are considered resistant to external perturbation, and this presents an advantage over other quantum computing technologies.

New insights into quantum materials and superconductivity possible

The researchers spent two years calculating the three-particle states in high-temperature superconductors. This class of materials, based on copper oxides, has only been known since the 1980s and has properties that are still not entirely understood (see info box below). The current research results were published in the scientific journal Communications Physics [below] and included instructions on practically demonstrating the states using X-ray experiments that should make the three bound particles visible. “The X-rays are absorbed by the material and transfer energy to the atoms. If a three-particle state is generated in the process, it is possible to measure a particularly strong scattering of the radiation,” says Benedikt Fauseweh.

The three-particle states are also highly interesting for fundamental research. The successful detection of these structures using X-rays would present a promising experimental opportunity to learn more about quantum materials. It would also make it possible to observe the possible effects of this strong bonding on high-temperature superconductors. “It would be exciting, for example, to learn that the three-particle states have a significant influence on superconductivity and its transition temperature,” explains Fauseweh.
__________________________________________________________________

High-temperature superconductor

Superconductors are materials that conduct electricity without any resistance. To do this, they must be cooled below their very low ‘transition temperature’. Below this temperature, a system is dominated by quantum mechanical effects. Materials such as liquid helium at minus 269 degrees Celsius are used for this cooling. High-temperature superconductors were first discovered in 1986 by Johannes Georg Bednorz and Karl Alexander Müller. In 1987, the two physicists were awarded the Nobel Prize for this discovery. A much higher typical transition temperature characterises these high-temperature superconductors. They have unusual quantum properties that distinguish them from conventional superconductors. High-temperature superconductors belong to the class of quantum materials and are at the heart of modern solid-state research. The mechanism that leads to superconductivity in these materials is still not fully understood. However, it is known that magnetic excitations play an important role.

Science paper:
Communications Physics

See the full article here .

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.] (DE) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space programme. DLR is also the umbrella organisation for the nation’s largest project management agency.

DLR has approximately 8000 employees at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo and Washington D.C.

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE): “DLR air­craft records methane lev­els off the coast of Cen­tral Africa”

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE)

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany.

9.26.22

The DLR research aircraft Falcon
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Rapid measures to reduce methane concentration promise short-term success against global warming.
The exact source strengths of methane-especially in the oil and gas industry-often remain unknown.
Methane sources are now being recorded in detail as part of the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) on behalf of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP).
Detailed data relating to methane sources serve as a basis for appropriate countermeasures and monitoring.
Focus: Earth observation, climate change
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Methane is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Due to its high climate impact, it is responsible for a quarter to a third of human-induced global warming since pre-industrial times depending on the climate model used. Worryingly, atmospheric methane concentrations have been rising at an accelerating pace in recent years, although the causes of this are not yet fully understood. Methane, however, breaks down much faster in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. This offers the opportunity to rapidly lower the atmospheric methane concentration if decisive action is taken to significantly reduce human methane emissions in the next few years. At the COP 26 international climate conference in November 2021, over 100 countries signed up to the Global Methane Pledge initiated by the USA and the EU – a commitment to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30 percent by 2030 compared to 2020 levels by deploying voluntary measures. An important part of the pledge was that participating nations agree for their emissions to be recorded in detail according to the standards of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The German Aerospace Center (Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is involved in the METHANE-To-Go mission, which is funded by the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP). In September 2022, the DLR Falcon 20E research aircraft measured methane emissions from the oil and gas industry off the west coast of Central Africa from its base in Gabon.

“The global community needs worldwide initiatives such as the Global Methane Pledge in order to counteract climate change in a targeted and internationally coordinated way,” says Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Chair of the DLR Executive Board. “Earth observation and the analysis of the data it gathers are vital for the development, monitoring and consistency of targeted measures. DLR uses innovative methods and instruments to provide the details and depth of data that are fundamental for successful climate protection measures. With the METHANE-To-Go mission, we are making an important contribution towards detecting leaks at oil and gas production sites, pipelines and LNG terminals.”

In September 2022, DLR’s Falcon research aircraft made flights from its base in Gabon to measure methane emissions from the oil and gas industry off the coast of Gabon and Angola. Aircraft measurements are essential to obtain a more detailed insight into methane emissions from individual oil and gas fields, as modern satellites can only provide general, inadequate data over the ocean and during periods of thick cloud cover at tropical latitudes. More detailed measurements of often unknown or underestimated methane emissions from the production and transport of oil and gas are the key to driving more efficient measures to reduce methane emissions together with the oil and gas industry.

“Overall, we are hoping to gain a better understanding of why the concentration of methane in the atmosphere has increased so much over the past decade, although it had stagnated for several years prior to that,” says mission leader Anke Roiger of the DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics. “In addition to natural sources of methane, we are particularly interested in anthropogenic sources from the energy, agriculture and waste sectors. We have to record these much more accurately in order to better understand how humans are contributing to the sharp increase in methane concentrations and to be able to advise the respective industries.”

Low-altitude measurements over the ocean

Like many international DLR research flight campaigns, the METHANE-To-Go mission required detailed preparation and experienced research pilots. “For the flights in Central Africa, organising a suitable base at an airport with sufficient working facilities is just as much a challenge as obtaining the required permits for the numerous low-altitude flights across various national airspaces and, for this mission specifically, for the low-altitude flights in the vicinity of offshore installations,” says lead pilot Michael Grossrubatscher from DLR’s Flight Experiments facility. “Here, our many years of experience, especially with previous flights in Gabon, and the tight cooperation with the local oil and gas authorities in advance of the mission, helped us a lot.” Between 30 and 500 metres above the ocean, the DLR Falcon takes measurements on the windward and leeward sides of the installations. This makes it possible to quantify the emissions of the plants under examination in detail. In addition to methane, the Falcon also records numerous other trace substances. This allows the research team to subsequently assign the observed methane emissions to different processes.

Oil and gas production off the west coast of Central Africa

On the west coast of Central Africa, oil and gas production is spread over more than 800 kilometres across a wide variety of offshore installations. Different extraction techniques are used for offshore production in shallow water and for production in the deep sea, some of which is up to 150 kilometres from land. During the two weeks on site, the mission team succeeded in collecting emission data from all relevant regions. The installations and associated emissions can differ greatly, particularly due to the different ages and state of the existing installations.

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The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.] (DE) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space programme. DLR is also the umbrella organisation for the nation’s largest project management agency.

DLR has approximately 8000 employees at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo and Washington D.C.

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE): “Analyzing the con­trails of the fu­ture”

From The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.](DE)

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany.

7.20.22

Contacts:
Bernadette Jung
Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Ober­paf­fen­hofen, Weil­heim, Augs­burg
Ger­man Aerospace Cen­ter (DLR)
Com­mu­ni­ca­tions and Me­dia Re­la­tions
Telephone: +49 8153 28-2251
Fax: +49 8153 28-1243
Münchener Straße 20
82234 Weßling

Tina Jurkat-Witschas
Ger­man Aerospace Cen­ter (DLR)
In­sti­tute of At­mo­spher­ic Physics
Münchener Straße 20
82234 Oberpfaffenhofen

Approaching the exhaust jet

Measurement above the clouds

Preparing for the “Blue Condor” measurement flights

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-DLR supports new test flight programme by Airbus and its subsidiary Airbus UpNext for CO2-emission-free flight.
-The “Blue Condor” project investigates the effects of contrails from hydrogen engines.
-Contrails contribute to the climate impact of air transport. In the form of long-lasting ice clouds, they could amplify the greenhouse effect.
-Focus: Aviation, climate change
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Contrails are generated as a result of aircraft emissions. They could amplify the greenhouse effect in the form of long-lasting ice clouds. The soot particles from jet fuel combustion act as particularly strong condensation nuclei for cloud formation in the part of the atmosphere where cold air is present. New engine technologies and the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) offer promising approaches to significantly reduce the climate impact of contrails. To this end, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is supporting an Airbus test flight programme, operated by its subsidiary Airbus UpNext, which is investigating for the first time contrails produced by a carbon dioxide emission-free aircraft that is powered by hydrogen. As part of the Blue Condor project, test flights are planned for the end of 2022 and in 2023 in North Dakota.

Engine comparison

Two Arcus gliders operated by the Perlan project will be deployed for the test flights, one equipped with a hydrogen jet engine and the other with a conventional kerosene-powered combustion engine. To ensure comparability of the data, the test flights will be carried out in immediate succession under the same meteorological conditions.

The respective glider will be towed by an EGRETT, a high-altitude research aircraft, to an altitude of more than nine kilometres. There, the glider will ignite the engine with which it is equipped. The EGRETT, outfitted with measurement instruments, then takes on the role of chaser and flies through the contrail in close formation, which also allows for the emissions from the exhaust plume to be measured.

The aim is to measure the microphysical properties of ‘hydrogen contrails’ in the atmosphere for the first time. The data will contribute to a better understanding of the formation of contrails resulting from hydrogen propulsion. In this way, technologies can be developed to modify the properties of the clouds impacting the climate and further mitigate their effect. Airbus is providing the hydrogen system and equipment, including the combustion engine, and is planning the flights of the test mission together with DLR. The DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics is responsible for the measurements and data analysis.

Revolutionizing future aviation

“DLR is a world leader when it comes to researching aircraft emissions. In order to achieve climate-neutral aviation, research results must be incorporated directly into the development of new products. We are pleased to be able to support Airbus and its subsidiary with this technology transfer,” says Markus Fischer, DLR Divisional Board Member for Aeronautics. Sandra Bour Schaeffer, CEO of Airbus UpNext adds: “The aviation industry is already working hard to reduce all aviation emissions by 2050, and we are proud to have international experts at our side for this next important step.”

Hydrogen engines predominantly emit water vapor and nitrogen oxides. Models show that the resulting contrails could have a much smaller effect on the climate. Direct hydrogen combustion does not produce particulate matter. Experts therefore suspect that the ice particles formed tend to be larger and occur in smaller numbers than with soot emissions. As a result, their rainout occurs faster, which means that the contrails are short-lived and contribute only marginally to global warming. However, science has lacked concrete measurement data on these complex atmospheric processes so far.

If the assumptions based on models can thus be confirmed, hydrogen combustion could revolutionize aviation of the future. This is precisely why measurements at cruising altitudes are necessary because it is not clear whether the models cover all relevant processes. Hydrogen combustion also offers significant reduction potential because it does not lead to carbon dioxide emissions. Only the increased emission of water vapor into the stratosphere could counteract the mitigating climate effect of these contrails and must be taken into account in the analyses. The “Blue Condor” measurement flights will provide fundamental data that will allow reliable statements on contrails to be issued for the first time.

The atmospheric researchers at Oberpfaffenhofen are using tried and tested instruments as well as instruments that were developed specifically for the mission. In particular, water vapor and ice particles as well as nitrogen oxides and aerosols are to be measured during the flight. The DLR project group H2CONTRAIL is leading from the DLR side and supplementing the measurements with targeted simulations to investigate the climate impact of contrails from hydrogen-fueled engines.

Research and industry united

The cooperation between research and industry goes far beyond the “Blue Condor” project. Airbus, DLR and the other stakeholders are active in several demonstration programmes, including ECLIF2, ECLIF3 (Emission and Climate Impact of Alternative Fuels) and VOLCAN (VOL avec Carburants Alternatifs Nouveaux). The common goal is to gain more precise insights into the climate benefits of contrails resulting from sustainable fuels and modern engine technologies. The Blue Condor project serves to complement these programmes. DLR is thus also supporting Airbus’ efforts to develop an emission-free aircraft by 2035. This is in line with the aviation strategy set out by DLR in December 2021 for the European Green Deal: ‘Towards zero-emission aviation’.

DLR – research for climate-neutral aviation

The consequences of climate change demand action for climate-neutral aviation. This involves new technologies that will also ensure global mobility in the future. With its 25 institutes and facilities in the field of aeronautics research, DLR is driving this change forward with technologies for sustainable, environmentally compatible flight. Expertise from DLR’s research programmes in space, energy and transport will also play an important role in this.

DLR has systems expertise in aeronautics research and sees itself in the role of an architect. DLR’s goal is ’emission-free aviation’, in order to achieve the climate targets that have been set. For this to work, the research results must feed directly into the development of new products.

There is a considerable need for research and development on the path to climate-compatible aviation which requires continuous funding and support. Much of this R&D needs investigations at a fundamental level, testing in practice and approval. DLR is able to do all this with its large-scale facilities such as research aircraft, propulsion demonstrators and large-scale computers. Through DLR’s new aviation strategy, we are now pursuing its vision of zero-emission aviation in line with The European “Green Deal”. To this end, we are conducting research and development work across the entire spectrum, in conjunction with our industry partners and other research institutions in Germany and abroad. This ranges from aircraft concepts and components as well as alternative propulsion solutions using new energy carriers to devising climate-optimised flight routes. This is DLR’s contribution to addressing the challenges presented by the Green Deal.

Climate impact of contrails

One third of the climate impact of aviation is due to carbon dioxide emissions and two thirds to other effects. Contrails and the resulting contrail cirrus clouds are the most significant factor. Conventional aircraft engines emit soot particles. These act as condensation nuclei for small supercooled water droplets, which immediately freeze into ice crystals and become visible as contrails in the sky. The ice crystals of the contrails can persist for several hours in cold and humid conditions at altitudes of about eight to twelve kilometres and form high clouds, known as contrail cirrus clouds. Depending on the position of the Sun and the ground below, these clouds can have a warming or cooling effect on a local scale. Numerous research studies show that globally the warming effect predominates. The occurrence of these clouds is extremely variable in time and space, so that a relatively small number of contrails is responsible for a large part of the warming effect. For many years, DLR and its partners have been systematically investigating ways to reduce soot emissions and the climate impact of the resulting contrail formation.

See the full article here .

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Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

The DLR German Aerospace Center [Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.] (DE) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space programme. DLR is also the umbrella organisation for the nation’s largest project management agency.

DLR has approximately 8000 employees at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo and Washington D.C.