Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)

DLR is the largest aerospace research institute in Europe. DLR has 10,000 employees at 30 locations throughout Germany and abroad. It also acts as the German space agency, responsible for planning and implementing the German space programme.

The DC will be hosted by the DLR Institute of Space Propulsion which, since its foundation in 1959, has been the most important European research and testing facility for liquid-chemical rocket engines. On the 51-hectare site, 25 kilometers north-east of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg, a place of modern engine development has emerged from historical roots. As a strategic test infrastructure, Lampoldshausen helps to secure Europe's access to space and is also Europe's most modern, flexible and efficient test center – also for new players in the launch sector.

We research fundamental processes of progressive space propulsion systems from advanced propellant development to combustion chamber design and entire propulsion systems based on decades of expertise on unique engine test benches. On the basis of these foundations, we encourage the further development of sustainable propulsion technologies in close cooperation with other research institutes and the space industry.