Business area Space
Space is a challenging interdisciplinary field of research. A strong orientation towards the research missions of ESA and JAXA, DLR's own missions, space-specific technologies and the ECSS standards as an overarching set of rules are decisive for the Space Business Unit.
One of the main areas of work is the development of space probes and landers for the exploration of the solar system, such as the comet lander "Philae" of the Rosetta mission or the asteroid lander MASCOT of the Hayabusa2 mission. Innovative design concepts and manufacturing technologies for the structures of compact satellites as well as instrument structures for satellites and interplanetary missions are also part of the portfolio.
Ultra-light deployable structures are another main area of work. Possible future applications include very large solar generators, solar sails or large antennas that can be deployed in space. The institute is developing globally unique and extremely innovative deployment concepts for these applications.
In the field of space transport, the institute is researching hybrid connecting elements and highly resilient structures for innovative launch systems. In the future, the institute's space structures will also become smarter: "sensing", "reacting" and "healing" are the keywords for this approach. The aim is to create structures that monitor themselves and react largely autonomously to external influences.