The motto of this year's DLRK at the German Hygiene Museum Dresden was: "Aerospace - researching together and making it sustainable". This year's programme committee around its head, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hartmut Fricke, Head of the Chair of Air Transport Technology and Logistics at the "Friedrich List" Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences at TU Dresden, had put together an impressive programme: 109 sessions, 450 different lectures and posters, a panel discussion and selected plenary and special lectures. In addition to a big celebration on the opening day, there were collective breaks for networking purposes and two big evening events.

During the opening ceremony on the first day of the congress, the President of the German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics (DGLR), Roland Gerhards, emphasised the "strong urge for networking and exchange in presence after a long Corona break as well as the large German share in international aerospace". A second central topic at the celebration was the ongoing war in Ukraine and its effects on the aerospace industry. The 1st Vice-President of the DGLR, Dr. Cornelia Hillenherms, spoke of great challenges and a breach of trust with regard to cooperation in space following statements made by the Russian government.

German astronaut Dr Matthias Maurer also spoke about the situation with Russia in his plenary talk "Cosmic Kiss", especially with regard to the joint work on the International Space Station ISS. In his talk, Maurer also reported on his research during his mission on the space station, which can find current application in times of Corona: With his experiment "Touching Surfaces", the material scientist examined germ-killing material. 

Current challenges of the aviation sector: How to improve the climate footprint of aircraft?

The current challenges of the aviation sector were also discussed at the DLRK. The main focus was on how to improve the climate footprint of aircraft - for example, through the use of innovative propulsion systems. For the head of the DLRK programme commission, Prof. Dr. Hartmut Fricke from TU Dresden, the future lies in Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and hydrogen technologies. According to Fricke, partial electrification is feasible for short- and medium-haul flights; for long-haul flights, other alternatives such as SAF would be needed. At the DLRK, electric aircraft and hydrogen engines and their characteristics were compared and discussed.

Panel discussion, 27.09.2022: "Green Operations" - Perspectives for sustainable development of transport and technology

Panelists (from left): Prof. Hartmut Fricke, Transport and Traffic Sciences TU Dresden (moderator), Johann Friedrich Colsman (Head of Department "Aviation" at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport), Ingo Ludwig (FCO Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG), Dr. Jörg Au (Engineering Director and Managing Director Rolls-Royce Germany), not in the picture: Dr. Markus Fischer (Divisional Director Aviation, DLR); Location: Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden

© Oliver Killig

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In addition, the 71st German Aerospace Congress also served to acquire young talent and future work networking. As at previous congresses, student theses and dissertations from the field of aerospace were awarded prizes at this year's kick-off event.

The next German Aerospace Congress will take place from 19-21 September 2023 at the "Haus der Wirtschaft" in Stuttgart.

Source: News release of the German Aerospace Society from 30.09.2022