Space Transportation
Recently, the world of launch vehicle development has become highly dynamic again. Important technical successes are being achieved in rapid succession. Now that Falcon 9 has established itself as a partially reusable launch vehicle that routinely returns its first stages to Earth with high accuracy, a far more ambitious, fully reusable vehicle ("Starship") has already begun flight testing.
As the development of launch vehicles is complex and takes several years from conception to first flight, early design decisions must be made carefully and soundly, taking into account the evolving economic environment.
A significant part of the Institute's activities is focussed on providing technical and cost-related assessments to support partners in Germany and Europe.
High-performance propulsion systems powered by cryogenic propellants are the basis for advanced space transport. Cryogenic propellants have an unrivalled high specific impulse. The key to a future competitive and successful space system is an intelligent and efficient propellant management in combination with advanced technologies, e.g. in the field of GNC, capturing methods or structures.
