Knowledge for tomorrow
On 20 September 2009, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) will hold the 'German Aerospace Day 2009'. On that day, DLR and its partners at Cologne-Porz will showcase their research in the areas of aerospace and spaceflight, energy and transport. Visitors young and old will be able to encounter and experience advanced technology first hand. The patron of the event is Dr Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, German Federal Minister of Economics and Technology.
At the event in Cologne-Porz, the DLR institutes will open their doors from 10:00 to 18:00 and present the work they are doing, gathering knowledge for tomorrow. Among other things, the scientists and engineers will showcase their research work in the area of health care for astronauts in space, as well as terrestrial applications in the areas of telemedicine and travel medicine. Research into engines of the future to reduce noise and polluting emissions will also be on display. Also to be exhibited are new rovers for planetary exploration as well as newly developed high tech materials for aircraft and spacecraft. Visitors can learn about current space missions such as the Rosetta comet rendezvous mission and, in addition, take a look inside the control centre for Rosetta’s lander.
On the open-air exhibition ground, guests can see various aircraft, including aircraft from DLR’s research fleet (Airbus A320 ATRA and Antares, Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EC135), the parabolic aircraft Airbus A300 ZERO-G, and aircraft from the German Air Force (ECR Tornado, F4 Phantom, Eurofighter, Transall C 160, Airbus A310 MedEvac).
The Human Resources department and the Human Resources Marketing team will be providing information about DLR as an employer and trainer. For younger visitors, the DLR_School_Lab offers the opportunity to perform experiments in the areas of aerospace, spaceflight, energy and transport research and to learn about the latest status of research at DLR. In addition, scientists from DLR will give presentations reporting their work and the current research projects.
The accompanying supporting programme also offers many attractions, from exhibitions to a film programme. On the stage there is a children’s programme for the young ones with 'Rudi Raven' and, for the older ones, there are interviews with scientists from DLR and talks with astronauts. In the cinema, visitors can see '100 years of German aerospace research'. To conclude the day there will be an exciting evening programme on the stage.
Joint organisers of the event this year are the Cologne Bonn Airport and the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) as well as the European Space Agency (ESA) with the European Astronaut Centre (EAC). Media partners are WDR, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper and Phoenix as well as Flug Revue and Aerokurier magazines.
Entrance to all of the activities of the main event is free of charge.