The next generation of space transportation
May 7 @ 7:00 PM UTC+2
The company POLARIS Spaceplanes GmbH is a pioneering enterprise in the field of space travel and has its
roots in over 30 years of German and European spaceplane research. As a spin-off of the German Aerospace
Center (DLR), it began the development of a novel spaceplane. The concept combines airplane and rocket
launch technologies and offers advantageous economic profitability as well as flexible access to regular, cost-
effective, and safe space missions from the entire European mainland.
At the core of POLARIS’s activities is the development of the Aurora spaceplane, a system that seamlessly
integrates the technologies of aircraft and rocket launchers. This innovation is not just about creating a
reusable platform for space and hypersonic transportation; it’s about the next generation of space
transportation. Alongside the Aurora spaceplane, POLARIS is also developing commercial hypersonic drones,
which serve as versatile tools for aerial reconnaissance and microgravity research applications
About the speakers:
| Annika is the Managing Director & Chief Commercial Officer of POLARIS Spaceplane, a dual use New Space startup from Bremen that is building a hypersonic multipurpose platform. Their vision is an airline-like spaceplane operation that encompasses horizontal take-offs and landings from conventional airports from e.g. the European mainland. Recently, they have flight tested their 5th subscale demonstrator under rocket power to verify their in-house developed linear aerospike engine, which resembles a world premiere in aerospace engineering. Annika holds an engineering degree and gathered research experience on fiber composites and Digital Twins of jet engines at the DLR and the University of Cambridge. She began her career as an aerospace and public sector strategy consultant before pursuing the development of a novel space transportation system |
