The commercialisation of spaceflight is raising the number of space activities worldwide and space vehicles are increasingly traversing the airspace in which air traffic operates. In order to meet the commercial interests of aviation and aerospace in the future, the integration of spacecraft into the existing air transport system is becoming more and more important. By establishing a Launch-Coordination Center (LCC), DLR will develop tools for a "launch-on-demand" and by this contribute to the safe and efficient integration of spacecraft.
Project Description
By 2024, the first Launch-Coordination Center demonstrator is to be set up by the DLR Institute of Flight Guidance with the support of DLR Technology Marketing in Braunschweig. The demonstrator will be integrated into the existing infrastructures of the Air Traffic Validation Center. For this purpose, the Airport and Control Center Simulator (ACCES) and the Air Traffic Management & Operations Simulator (ATMOS) will be modified and enhanced.
LCC for a "Launch on Demand"
In SpaceTracks, a Launch-Coordination Center (LCC) will be established to demonstrate functionalities that enable efficient and flexible operations of launches and re-entries. Tools are to be created that will bring together the requirements of the operator with those of other stakeholders involved in the mission in order to facilitate and accelerate the necessary coordination processes.
SpaceTracks aims to make space operations more flexible, dynamic and economical, and to increase the ability to respond to possible changes during operations, all while maintaining or improving the safety of all stakeholders involved in the mission. To accomplish this objective, in addition to the tools, a system infrastructure will be developed, built and integrated into an overall system. The resulting functionalities are intended to be applicable to all types of rockets, spacecraft and missions.
The primary goal is to use the Launch Coordination Center first for a pilot mission and then to put it to regular operation with a future operator.
Concept video
DLR Institute of Flight Guidance DLR Technology Marketing