DLRmagazine 176 (November 2024)

Knowledge for a secure tomorrow

Maximum concentration prevails in the control room of the Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI). The ZKI is a facility of the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) at DLR's site in Oberpfaffenhofen. In the event of a disaster – whether a flood, earthquake or explosion – Earth observation data such as satellite, aerial or drone images are collected here. DLR has been working for many years across a wide range of security and defence research areas. In this issue of the DLRmagazine, we provide you with an insight into the scope of this research.

Editorial

Today's world is characterised by uncertainty, with wars that extend beyond the battlefield, profoundly affecting our civil society. Cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure, for example, are on the rise, with dangerous consequences. Scientific research in security and defence helps us to strengthen our social protective shield. This is not just about military technology or political strategies, but also about innovative approaches that make all our lives safer. DLR has been working for many years across a wide range of security and defence research areas, including secure infrastructure in space, measures against attacks on satellite navigation – known as jamming and spoofing – and technologies for humanitarian aid. In this issue of the DLRmagazine, we provide you with an insight into the scope of this research.

For example, the Responsive Space Cluster Competence Center (RSC3) has been set up at the DLR site in Trauen. With the laser ground station there, researchers have the entire sky in their view – in particular the Galileo global navigation satellite system. If one of these satellites fails, rapid action is required.

A rapid response is also essential in the field of humanitarian aid. This past summer, DLR researchers, together with the Bavarian Red Cross and the United Nations World Food Programme, demonstrated how humanitarian aid could look in the future in test runs of the amphibious SHERP vehicle. The SHERP can travel autonomously to disaster and flood areas, supply people with relief supplies, and pick up injured people and transport them to safer areas – all without endangering emergency personnel, which no longer need to be aboard the rescue vehicle.

This issue also explores the future of rail transport. The digitalisation of railways can create urgently needed capacity to transport more people and goods by rail. New concepts and technologies are being developed and tested for this purpose in DLR laboratories. We also introduce you to the start-up heatbrAIn, which, with the help of AI, enables local authorities to draw up effective heating plans and rapidly implement heating networks.

Coverstory

Safety first

DLR technologies for defence and security

More Articles

Do not disturb!

Jamming and spoofing – when interference and deceptive signals disrupt navigation

Help is on the way

New technologies for humanitarian aid

Clean power

How today's gas turbines can be converted to run on hydrogen

Into the world of practical applications

Collaborating with start-ups and industry to implement quantum computing applications

Per aspera ad astra

The future of European spaceflight passes through Lampoldshausen

From Earth to Space – and back again

How rockets can be reused

Unleashing the digital nodes

How DLR's simulations and virtual tests are advancing railway digitalisation

Thinking ahead – from the start

How DLR Projektträger contributes to research, the economy and society

Start-up power for the heating transition

DLR spin-off heatbrAIn assists municipalities, planning offices and network operators by providing precise data

The naval aviator

In conversation with Elizabeth Buron, Project manager at the Flight Experiments Facility in Braunschweig

The eternal runner-up

Simon Marius, a Franconian scientist who passed away 400 years ago, was among the most important astronomers of his time

Legends of the skies

The Flugwerft Schleißheim at the Deutsches Museum

More content

Green technology

Infographic

The H₂-Container Technical Center (H₂CT) in Lampoldshausen

Look me in the eyes

A special type of eye examination is shown in this Picture – in the RIDGE study (Retinal circulation during gravitation changes in a human centrifuge), researchers from the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine are investigating how and whether intraocular pressure and blood flow in the retina change under altered gravitational conditions. In microgravity, fluids from the lower half of the Body move towards the head and chest. This can cause visual disturbances and neurological impairments, especially during long-term space missions. In space medicine, these symptoms are referred to as Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS). This is a Major risk for both male and female astronauts. The RIDGE study is being conducted in collaboration with the Department of Cardiology at the University Hospital of Düsseldorf and is funded by the German Space Agency at DLR. In the :envihab research facility at the DLR site in Cologne, test subjects are rotated while lying on the short-arm human centrifuge. This induces a targeted fluid shift in the direction of the head, but also in the direction of the legs. Meanwhile, Researchers measure the changes in intraocular pressure and the body's regulatory mechanisms under different gravity conditions. The pupil is dilated with eye drops so that it does not contract when the bright green light is used during the eye examination to measure arterial and venous vessels on the retina. The results of this study are important not only for human spaceflight, but also for clinical research on Earth, offering valuable insights for the treatment of diseases related to fluid regulation in the human body.

Download the DLRmagazine 176

DLRmagazine 176 – Knowledge for a secure tomorrow

9.9 MB | PDF

More safety and security in less secure times – Issue 176 of the DLRmagazine provides an insight into the scope of this research. The cover shows the control room of the Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) at DLR. Scientific research makes a significant contribution to protecting both the population and infrastructure from damage. In recent years, DLR has built up a wide range of expertise in this area cooperating with national players as well as international organisations. In this issue of the DLRmagazine, for example, we look at secure infrastructure in space, measures against attacks on satellite navigation and technologies for humanitarian aid. We also take a look at the future of rail transport and present a promising start-up: heatbrAIn uses artificial intelligence to help local authorities to create optimised heating networks.

Contact

Editorial team DLRmagazine

German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Corporate Communications
Linder Höhe, 51147 Cologne