Making tomorrow's spaceflight more efficient, cost-effective and safer with innovative propulsion systems and environmentally friendly fuels - that's what around 250 DLR employees are working towards at the Lampoldshausen site. For over 60 years, they have been researching, developing and testing innovative technologies for chemical space propulsion systems on a test bed infrastructure unrivalled anywhere in Europe.
With scientific expertise, a unique infrastructure and openness to the use of forward-looking and cost-reducing technologies from the fields of digitalisation and artificial intelligence, Lampoldshausen has evolved into the European research and technology location for liquid chemical space propulsion.
Hydrogen has been an integral part of European spaceflight for more than four decades. Today, researchers at the DLR site in Lampoldshausen are working on transferring this historically acquired knowledge to the energy and mobility sectors. In doing so, DLR researchers are pushing the production of 'green' hydrogen as well as the expansion of a research and development platform to test hydrogen technologies in practice, develop them further and bring them into application. Close cooperation with small and medium-sized enterprises as well as other scientific institutions enables rapid scaling and fast industrial implementation.
The Institute of Technical Physics operates a 130-metre-long loptical test range at the Lampoldshausen site. The measurements and experiments with lasers and optical technologies carried out show how real environmental conditions influence the propagation of optical radiation. On the measurement track, a team of DLR scientists is researching, among other things, technologies that can be used to detect and locate space debris or to protect against uncrewed aerial vehicles. The experts are also investigating the extent to which lasers can be used to detect chemical, biological or explosive hazardous substances from a safe distance.
German Aerospace Center (DLR) Im Langen Grund 74239 Hardthausen am Kocher Germany
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Video: The Institute of Space Propulsion in 3 minutes
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Video: The Institute of Space Propulsion in 3 minutes
The engines with which future rockets will embark on their journey to space have been tested at the Lampoldshausen site since 1959. The test portfolio ranges from basic research to components and engine tests to the testing of entire rocket stages.
First upper stage of Ariane 6 successfully tested on the upper stage test rig P5.2 in DLR Lampoldshausen
The test of the Ariane 6 upper stage is a major milestone in launcher development. The teams from DLR, ArianeGroup and the European Space Agency (ESA) were able to refuel and cool down the new upper stage for the first time and test the Vinci engine for 45 seconds in a hot run.
DLR Space Propulsion Forum: Space history and the present combined in one place
We cordially invite you to get to know DLR Lampoldshausen better. To this end, we opened the DLR Space Propulsion Forum in 2013. It offers all interested visitors the opportunity to gain insights into our work and current developments at DLR. The exhibition shows unique exhibits and films spanning 60 years of spaceflight history.
