IAC 2017 - DLR signs cooperation agreements with international partners
September 29, 2017
IAC 2017 - DLR signs cooperation agreements with international partners
Space travel: DLR and SANSA
DLR and the South African space agency SANSA will continue to work together in the future. Hansjörg Dittus, Member of the DLR Executive Board responsible for Space Research and Technology, Pascale Ehrenfreund, Chair of the DLR Executive Board, and Valanthan Munsami, Chief Executive Officer of SANSA (from left to right in the image.)
Collaboration between DLR and Sierra Nevada Corporation
DLR Chair Pascale Ehrenfreund (centre), Hansjörg Dittus (left) and Mark Sirangelo, Head of the Sierra Nevada Corporation (right), signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ - a declaration of intent to cooperate in the future.
Now a tradition, a meeting of the ‘Women in Aerospace’ (WIA) also took place at this year's IAC. In addition to Pascale Ehrenfreund, ESA Director General Jan Wörner and the President of the Italian space agency (ASI) Roberto Battiston also spoke.
Representatives of international space agencies, the industrial sector and research institutes gathered at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) from 25 to 29 September 2017 in Adelaide, Australia. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) took this opportunity to sign a number of Memorandums of Understanding for closer collaboration with international partners. In addition to MoUs with two Australian universities, agreements were also signed with the Sierra Nevada Corporation and the South African space agency SANSA. Numerous guests from Australia and other countries attended the German Night, hosted jointly by DLR and the German Embassy in Australia, where they were able to exchange information.
Cooperation with Australian universities
On 29 September 2017, DLR signed a cooperation agreement with the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra – one of the country's top universities – to work together in the aerospace field. The joint undertakings with the Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Center (AITC) – which belongs to ANU – will focus on developing and testing structures and actuators for space systems, among others. This also includes components for optical detectors in the hyperspectral and infrared range, as well as research on optical communications, satellite control and space debris tracking. The facilities also agreed on an exchange programme for their staff. With its ongoing cooperation with La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and the Memorandums of Understanding signed with the University of Sydney and ANU, DLR now collaborates with three of the country's universities. This week Australia also announced that it will be founding its own space agency.
DLR and the Sierra Nevada Corporation cooperate on low Earth orbit missions
DLR and the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 28 September 2017 to continue their 2013 cooperation on the use of the Dream Chaser. The two organisations plan to expand their joint engineering and scientific work to low Earth orbit applications as well. The cooperation is intended to produce concepts, conduct studies and jointly identify suitable technologies for future infrastructures for the period beyond the International Space Station (ISS). The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Pascale Ehrenfreund, Chair of the DLR Executive Board, Professor Hansjörg Dittus, Member of the DLR Executive Board for Space Research and Technology, and Mark Sirangelo, Corporate Vice President at Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems.
Cooperation with the South African space agency
DLR and the South African space agency SANSA have agreed on closer cooperation in the future: the Memorandum of Understanding between the two partners detailed collaboration in the design, development, integration and testing of microsats. The MoU was signed by Hansjörg Dittus, Pascale Ehrenfreund and Valanthan Munsami, Chief Executive Officer at SANSA.
The German Night
The German Night has also become a tradition at the IAC. Ehrenfreund used the occasion to welcome international guests like Senator Martin Günthner from Bremen, the German Ambassador to Australia Anna Prinz, and the Governor of South Australia Hieu Van Le with his wife Lan Le.
