Cutting-edge research from fundamental principles through to applications
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The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is Germany’s national research and technology centre for aeronautics, space, energy, transport, security and defence. DLR’s work spans a wide range of applications, delivering results and innovations that benefit industry and business, government agencies and the public sector. At the heart of DLR’s mission is its commitment to society, which it fulfils through extensive knowledge sharing and targeted technology transfer. Therefore it is funded through federal resources. The German Space Agency at DLR is responsible for planning and implementing German space activities on behalf of the federal government. Additionally, two project management agencies at DLR manage research and industrial funding programmes.
Earth’s climate is changing, along with global mobility and technology. DLR harnesses the expertise of its 51 research institutes and facilities to develop solutions to these challenges. All 11,000 employees share a common mission: to explore Earth and space while developing technologies for a sustainable future. DLR’s technologies are not confined to the laboratory, but are transferred to wider society, strengthening Germany’s position as a prime location for research and industrial innovation.
An active member of the Helmholtz Association
As the largest institution in the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, DLR is responsible for the fields of aeronautics, space and transport research, and also makes important contributions to energy research. Germany’s major non-university research institutions come together under the Helmholtz name. These differ from other non-university research institutions such as the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Society and the Leibniz Association, in that they are dedicated to finding solutions to major and pressing societal issues relating to Earth and the environment, health, energy, the structure of matter and key technologies. Of course, the work also includes aeronautics, space and transport. Research and development work is conducted on topics that range all the way from fundamental principles to their application in the form of services and products.
Organised as a registered association
DLR operates in the legal form of a registered association. As such, DLR is a legally independent entity with its own charter and statutory bodies (boards).
DLR Senate
DLR's highest body is its General Assembly. This has delegated essential tasks to the DLR Senate, which meets twice a year as a supervisory body. The DLR Senate consists of up to 33 members, representing the scientific, business, industrial and state sectors equally. The Chair of the Senate is a State Secretary in the Federal Ministry, which is responsible to the Federal Government for DLR. In addition to its supervisory role, the Senate advises and supports DLR on important issues such as its strategic direction and setting the course for the further development of DLR.
DLR Executive Board
DLR is managed by its Executive Board. Since October 2020, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla has been Chair of the Executive Board, while Klaus Hamacher is Vice Chairman. The Executive Board also includes Prof. Dr. Karsten Lemmer, responsible for the Executive Board department 'Innovation, Transfer and Research Infrastructure', and Dr. Walther Pelzer, responsible for the 'German Space Agency at DLR' based in Bonn.