DLR

German Aerospace Center

The DLR is the research center of the Federal Republic of Germany for aerospace. Research and development in aviation, space travel, energy and transport, security and digitization is carried out there. The German Space Agency at DLR is responsible for the planning and implementation of German space activities on behalf of the Federal Government. Two DLR project management organizations oversee funding programs and support knowledge transfer.

Climate, mobility and technology are changing globally. DLR uses the expertise of its 55 institutes and facilities to develop solutions to these challenges. Our 10,000 employees (as of February 2021) have a common mission: We explore earth and space and develop technologies for a sustainable future. So not only research for sustainability but also sustainable research and work. In this way, we contribute to strengthening Germany as a knowledge and business location.

DLR in numbers

Across Germany, DLR has 30 locations in Cologne (head office), Aachen, Aachen-Merzbrück, Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cochstedt, Cottbus, Dresden, Geesthacht, Göttingen, Hamburg, Hanover, Jena and Jülich , Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Oldenburg, Rheinbach, Stade, St. Augustin, Stuttgart, Trauen, Ulm, Weilheim and Zittau. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo and Washington D.C.

In the 2020 financial year, DLR's budget for research and operations was 1,261 million euros, 44 percent of which was third-party funding. The civil space budget managed by DLR totaled around 1,552 million euros in 2020 (excluding EUMETSAT, the European institute for meteorological satellites that monitors the weather and climate from space). Around 945 million euros of this went to the German contribution to the European Space Agency ESA. The ESA share was therefore 61 percent of the total space volume. Around 305 million euros were spent on the national space program, which accounts for a share of 20 percent. For the area of research and technology, the volume was around 301 million euros. The share of the research space sector in the total space budget fraud thus 19 percent. The funding from the DLR project management agency had a volume of 2,240 million euros and the aviation project management agency had a volume of 202 million euros. On DLR in numbers you will find more information on budgets, income and various statistical values. Information on the subject of sustainability is available on the Internet, where you will also find detailed sustainability reports and DNK declarations.