PRINCIPAL RESEARCH THEME AUTONOMOUS FLIGHT

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1 AUTONOMOUS FLIGHT Whereas only a few years ago, unmanned aircraft were still exotic specimens resulting from research efforts devoid of practical applications, today driven by rapid progress in many areas of technology several possibilities for use have become imaginable. At the same time, security requirements in aviation are constantly increasing. This trend calls for further automation in aircraft and flight control. This is why continuous development of various technologies supporting autonomous flying is key to aerospace product and service providers. A major goal of joint research efforts within the scope of this Principal Research Theme is therefore to maximise safety, reliability, accessibility and integrity of unmanned flight systems by developing suitable architectures for flight, control, mission and safety systems. In addition to the unmanned aircraft itself, the infrastructure on the ground and data links between the two components play an important role. Any work on this topic requires close co-operation with neighbouring disciplines and is of fundamental importance. The vision for autonomous flight involves pioneering work, which offers great potential to other industries besides aerospace. Generating Optimal Reference Trajectories for Autonomous Flight Systems Factoring in Configuration Changes HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Professor Matthias Gerdts (UniBw) TUM (Institute of Flight System Dynamics) UniBw (Chair for Mathematical Engineering) Bauhaus Luftfahrt (Team Visionary Aircraft Concepts) Certifiable Autonomy in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles STARTED HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Dr Gunther Reißig (UniBw) Mission-oriented Design, Control and Equipment HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Dr Konstantin Kondak (DLR) DLR (Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics) TUM (Institute of Flight System Dynamics and Institute of Aircraft Design) UniBw (Institute for Flight Systems) Bauhaus Luftfahrt (Team Visionary Aircraft Concepts) UniBw (Institute for Automatic Control Engineering) TUM (Hybrid Control Systems Group)

2 GEODETIC EARTH OBSERVATION Germany and Europe operate satellites for geodetic observation of the Earth on a wide resolution and accuracy scale range (100km 1mm), using technologies and methods such as gravity field determination via new satellite gravimetric processes and surveying the deformation of individual buildings and infrastructure elements via high-definition interferometric and tomographic radar methods. With the availability of the newest-generation TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X satellites, the boundaries between the methods required have become blurred. Interferences resulting from geometric (radar) methods contribute signals to gravimetric missions, and vice-versa. The goal of the Principal Research Theme Geodetic Earth Observation is to conceptually unify methods using various scales, apply these to other geodetic problems, discovering thus new uses and developing new satellite mission concepts. One of the specific goals highly attractive to both the scientific and business communities is increasing geometric accuracy of radar satellite imaging data into the cm and mm range. The solid research programme for this Principal Research Theme will flank current and future work comprising the missions of the German and European satellite programmes. This research is relevant for such practical applications as climatology, solid Earth physics, predicting natural disasters, urban risk management and urban planning. SparsEO Sparse Reconstruction and Compressive Sensing for Remote Sensing and Earth Observation HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Professor Xiaoxiang Zhu (DLR) DLR (Remote Sensing Technology Institute) TUM (Chair of Remote Sensing Technology, Chair for Applied Numerical Analysis and Institute for Computational Mechanics) High-resolution Geodetic Earth Observation: Correction Methods and Validation HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Professor Michael Eineder (DLR) DLR (Remote Sensing Technology Institute) TUM (Chair for Remote Sensing Technology and Institute for Astronomical and Physical Geodesy) Immersive Visual Information Mining for the TerraSAR-X / TanDEM-X-Archive HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Professor Mihai Datcu (DLR) DLR (Remote Sensing Technology Institute) TUM (Institute for Human-Machine Communication)

3 SAFETY IN ORBIT Space-based services today are not only standard practice in astrophysical and geophysical basic research, they are also part of our every-day life such as in communications and navigation. Increased interconnection between space flight systems and their corresponding infrastructure comprising numerous services and applications makes it increasingly important to secure the availability and dependability of the entire system, which consists of the ground segments control centre and operations, the transportation segment of rocket technology, the space segments of satellite technology and payload and the customer segments of services and applications. As part of the Principal Research Theme Safety in Orbit, the partners are examining various factors for ensuring dependable availability of highly complex interdisciplinary space-based services such as acquisition and disposal of space debris and the ensuring of continuous and autonomous operation of satellites. The research conducted represents an important contribution to ensuring continuing, reliable availability of space-based services and applications to mankind, even as systems become more and more complex. Space Debris Detection, Avoidance, Removal HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Dr Hauke Fiedler (DLR) DLR (Space Operations and Astronaut Training) UniBw (Institute of Space Technology and Space Applications) Propulsion Technologies for Green In-Orbit Spacecraft STARTED HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Professor Oskar Haidn (TUM) TUM (Institute for Flight Propulsion) UniBw (Institute of Space Technology and Space Applications and Institute for Thermodynamics) Real-Time Attitude Control and On-Orbit Navigation Laboratory STARTED HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Professor Ulrich Walter (TUM) DLR (Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics) TUM (Institute of Astronautics)

4 ADVANCED AEROSPACE COMMUNICATIONS AND NAVIGATION In the field of aerospace, communication capabilities are of fundamental importance. Particularly robust systems are required, designed to be completely and multiply redundant. Near-Earth space satellite communications involve the technological challenge of continually increasing data transfer rates. Communications via optical beam is a promising technology expected to increase in importance, as space exploration requires receiving data from vast distances. Here too, optical communications are at the centre of interest due to short wavelengths and correspondingly small transmission apertures. All these complex issues fall within the scope of the Principal Research Theme Advanced Aerospace Communications and Navigation. The goal is to contribute to DLR and TUM aircraft missions and to German and European satellite projects. This research work also reflects Germany s renewed interest in recent years in satellite communications and supports the country s endeavours to extend its lead in research and infuse technology transfer with new ideas. RESEARCH GROUP Interference Alignment in Satellite Networks HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Professor Berthold Lankl (UniBw) DLR (Institute of Communications and Navigation) UniBw (Institute for Communications Engineering) Optical Communication, Network Coding, Sample-Based Transponders and Retro- Reflective Antennae HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Dr Sandro Scalise (DLR) DLR (Institute of Communications and Navigation) TUM (Institute for Communications Engineering and Institute for Circuit Theory and Signal Processing) UniBw (Institute for Communications Engineering)

5 PRINCIPAL RESEARCH THEME AVIATION MANAGEMENT The airport, as a central element in a smoothly functioning air traffic system, is facing huge challenges relating to ecological and economic sustainability and changes in the regulatory framework. Ensuring a reliable assessment system is thus becoming more and more important as new solutions and architectures for the airport sector emerge. Assessing novel approaches is highly important in order to maintain efficiency, high service quality and reduce costs, for example regarding the transition from ground to air transport in the wider airport context. Researchers investigating the Principal Research Theme of Aviation Management are approaching these diverse issues on three levels: Modelling, Simulation and Optimisation of the Operational Aspects of Intermodal Nodes in Air Transportation STARTED HEAD OF RESEARCH GROUP Dr Kay Plötner (BHL) TUM (Institute of Aircraft Design) UniBw (Institute for Theoretical Computer Science, Mathematics and Operations Research) Bauhaus Luftfahrt (Team Economics and Transportation and Team Visionary Aircraft Concepts) On a strategic level, universal scenarios are being developed, incorporating relevant intra- and extra-systemic factors to facilitate reliable decision-making in dynamic and unstable markets. On an operating level, processes relating to ground and air operations of differing air transport system protagonists are being analysed, such as passenger and freight handling. On a technology level, new technologies are assessed with regard to their compliance with identified future technical, economic and strategic frameworks. However, the emerging solution concepts must accommodate findings from scenario analyses and the complex interdependencies of the air traffic system.

6 PRINCIPAL RESEARCH THEME GREEN AEROSPACE Both the aeronautics and space industries are currently subject to considerable technological changes resulting from increasing ecological awareness. Further reductions in greenhouse gases, pollutant emissions and noise are planned as part of the efforts to minimise the ecological footprint, along with transitioning away from conventional fuels. Green Aerospace is the watchword for this trend manifesting in the areas of propulsion, energy, structures, manufacturing, operations and systems. The aviation industry in particular has set ambitious targets for itself, as from 2020 onward the industry intends to achieve carbon-neutral growth despite a considerable increase in air traffic volume, which will mean reducing emissions to 50% of the 2005 level by the year To achieve this ambitious target, developing alternative fuel and energy sources is a necessity, in addition to improving propulsion engines technologically and developing a new air traffic concept for instance by choosing climate-optimised flight paths. The space industry still relies on the highly toxic propulsion fuel hydrazine, but recent EU legislation has led to an increase in the production of alternative fuels and propulsion systems. Besides having positive ecological effects, these developments will eventually lead to independence from the limited resource of fossil fuels.

7 PRINCIPAL RESEARCH THEME PUBLIC SECURITY Public security in highly industrialised countries is currently undergoing great change. Energy black-outs, cyberspace attacks, international terrorism and climate change effects such as epidemics and pandemics have become the challenges of our time. Advancements in information and communication technologies (ICT) provide great opportunities for efficient communication in crisis situations such as disasters. The risks are becoming more and more apparent however, with cyberattacks for example on the increase. Heightened danger is seen in the trend toward networked devices and highly dense critical infrastructure in such areas as aerospace, energy and water supplies and healthcare. A holistic system of systems approach is necessary for early crisis identification, prevention and management. Our future cyber defence systems will in some areas require integrated cyber security solutions, comprising innovative coding methods and watertight testing and verification procedures. ICT is the key technology in and innovation driver behind such solutions, which will be permeating all areas of modern society. Mastering this technology is vital for successful preventative security and crisis management.