The aim of the project "Transport development and environment" (VEU) is to close this gap. The project brings together the competences of natural scientists, engineers and social scientists from several DLR research institutes and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The initiative is coordinated at the Institute of Transport Research. They develop instruments to describe scenarios and trends in ground and air transportation until 2030 and to identify and evaluate environmental and social impacts.
The new short-arm human centrifuge was installed in :envihab at DLR Cologne between late February and early March 2013. Installation of the 'heart of :envihab' lasted several weeks. We took advantage of this rare opportunity to take a closer look at the individual stages of the installation.
Currently, safety considerations related to wake vortices force pilots of small and medium-sized aircraft to maintain a separation of about 10 kilometres from heavier planes flying ahead of them. Soon, up to twice as many commercial aircraft could land on runways in good weather without endangering one another.
The scientific payload on BION-M1 includes two experiments funded by the German Aerospace Center (DLR); biologists and zoologists from the Universities of Erlangen and Hohenheim have developed a two-chamber aquarium for 'Omegahab'. This is a mini-ecosystem designed to function as a bioregenerative life support system in microgravity, with its own nutrient and gas exchange. Furthermore, the German scientists are working in close collaboration with Russian researchers, and with the support of DLR; at the IBMP (Institute of Biomedical Problems) in Moscow, the two Omegahab flight models – one that is on board BION-M1 in space, the other on the ground as a reference – have been tested, filled and flown to Baikonur by the Russian Academy of Sciences.
For the first time, researchers have managed to transmit a quantum key from a fast-moving object. The quantum data was sent from an aircraft to a ground station via a laser beam. Key exchange based on quantum mechanics is considered to be absolutely secure against eavesdropping.
Pilot training in the world's first robot-based flight simulator – developed by DLR in cooperation with Grenzebach Maschinenbau and KUKA.
In this video, project manager Dr. Martin Sippel and his Australian Monash University PhD candidate, Olga Trivailo from the DLR Institute of Space Systems in Bremen, introduce the SpaceLiner and answer the most important questions about this visionary and cutting edge project.
Flexibility in respect of fuel types, compact dimensions and high efficiency combined with low emissions – these properties characterise the free-piston linear generator (FKLG), the brainchild of engineers at DLR. This animated film (in German) provides an insight into the way this new kind of range extender works.
Air is forced outwards through small holes in the rotor blades, which reduces the amount of harmful turbulence when stalling occurs. This enables the pitching moments exerted on the rotor blades – that restrict performance – to be substantially reduced.
This webcast presents some of the 28 projects on display at this exhibition.
A tour of the DLR stand at the ILA Berlin Air Show 2012.
As of now, the DLR Magazine is also available free of charge for your tablet, be it iPad or Android. Take a look at this short video, see how it works, get curious, download. Music by Eigenheimer/rec72.net, CC-BY-SA.
From the more than 28,000 images acquired by Dawn between July 2011 and August 2012, DLR scientists computed a global digital surface model of Vesta. Ralf Jaumann, head of DLR's Dawn scientific team, explains a few spectacular observations with the help of this virtual flight over Vesta. The animation was computed by DLR using the highest resolution images acquired on this mission, and shows details down to a size of just 70 metres.
The next mars mission will reach the Red Planet in 2016 to take a 'look' into the deep interior. It will do this with geophysical experiments including DLR's HP3, which will penetrate several metres into the Martian subsurface to measure the soil's thermo-physical and electrical properties.
Using images acquired by the High Resolution Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, DLR researchers have created a 3D virtual flight over the landing site of the Mars Science Laboratory in the 150-kilometre-sized Gale Crater. The landing scenario is also visible at the end.
Almost 15 years after being paralysed by a stroke, a 58-year-old US-American woman was once again able to serve herself a drink of coffee. This was possible thanks to a state-of-the-art DLR robot arm and hand that she controlled with neural signals sent directly from her brain.
Even though it doesn't quite qualify as a 'proper planet, the second most massive asteroid in the Solar System, Vesta - which has a diameter of approximately 530 kilometres - exhibits numerous planetary characteristics.
The first Global Atlas for Solar and Wind Energy provides open access to information about where solar and wind energy can best be exploited, and is set to accelerate the development of renewable energy sources.
Locusts in the wind tunnel, recorded in real-time. Green laser light makes wing positions visible. This knowledge is bringing engineers closer to the point where they can build miniature aircraft that fly like insects.