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One human in space – thousands on Earth
Manned space flight has never ceased to be a complex task. Despite of harmless travel times – a flight from Earth to the ISS takes six hours only – it still is not a routine business. However, manned space flight is without any alternative – since only humans can do what humans can do: think, feel, improvise, be nimble-fingered. That makes a human in space an important partner of researchers on Earth. For carrying a human to space, and providing him with food and work there, hundreds of employees on the ground are needed. Directly in space flight, indirectly in all departments and institutions doing research for space flight – from physicians to material technicians through to communication engineers or co-workers in the wind channel.
The German Aerospace Center (DLR):
30 times in Germany
© DLR
Working at the DLR is possible at many locations in Germany and in many different professions. These professions are as multifaceted as space flight itself.
The main research focus at DLR – besides aerospace – is on energy, transport, security and digitalisation.
Institutes, testing and operating facilities: At 30 locations in Germany, the DLR unites about 10,000 employees. 1,400 of them are working at the headquarters in Cologne and 1,800 at the largest site, Oberpfaffenhofen. They all form the DLR. Here are some examples:
Ground control station
The control rooms of the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) are located at the DLR sites in Oberpfaffenhofen and Cologne. Here, missions are flown and the Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station is operated.
© ESA
European Astronaut Centre
Fit for Space: in the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, astronauts undergo training before and after their sojourn in space: physical fitness, extra-vehicular activities, operation of modules. On site, about 100 physicians, psychologists, sports scientists, and many more are working.
© ESA
Parabolic flight aircraft
Zero-g. For 22 seconds. 31 times in succession within four hours. Parabolic flight. With the Airbus A 310 Zero-G from Novespace, being used by DLR, ESA, and CNES, experiments can be tested in microgravity before sending them to space at high effort and costs. However, many insights can already be gained during these 22 seconds.
© Novespace
© ESA
Soyuz capsule
Upscale aircraft: three seats, no toilet, no board service. However, the monopoly position for tickets to the ISS: the soyuz capsule. Price for a round trip: 71 million US-dollars per person, albeit including training, landing, and rescue.
© ESA
Ariane rocket
The European launch vehicles are called Ariane. The most recent model is Ariane 6 – an ESA programme. The special feature: Ariane 6 can take payloads such as satellites to any orbit – low-Earth orbit, geostationary, or sun-synchronous. The maximum payload for launch into space is twelve tons. With new manufacturing processes (among other, 3D printing, laser surface processing) and production sequences, launch cost should be reduced by about 40 per cent compared to Ariane 5.
© ArianeGroup
ISS
How to become an astronaut?
With curiosity, stamina, and a little luck.
Initially, German ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst did not envisage to start a career in space flight. But he is a researcher. A geophysicist and volcanologist. And, to top it all off, an excellent one, who studied in Karlsruhe, Hamburg, and Wellington (New Zealand) and earned a diploma, a master’s degree, and a PhD. He was selected from over 8,000 applicants, and before his flight to the ISS in 2014, he completed the more than one-year astronaut basic training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne in 2009. In 2018, he was assigned to the ISS for the second time – part of the time even as commander.
© ESA
The reason why today’s astronauts are not jet pilots in the first place, but rather excellent scientists, is the fact that research is conducted in space. Humans in space do not have to manoeuvre a rocket through a meteorite shower, but they have to carry out dozens of experiments that other scientists have conceived.
Matthias Maurer, the next German ESA astronaut
© ESA
Materials technology engineer, materials science engineer, materials engineer, Master of Business and Engineering, and even a PhD in materials science, plus ten patents – for instance, in lightweight construction. Does that sound like a typical astronaut? With ESA, it does. Matthias Maurer will be the next German astronaut flying to the ISS. He has ideal qualifications for this task: on the ISS, a lot of research on novel materials is conducted.
What are the benefits of manned space flight?
The opportunities of the “horizons” mission on the ISS
The second assignment of Alexander Gerst on the ISS was the “horizons” mission in 2018. Numerous experiments with German participation formed part of the mission – that is high-end space research for Germany. Research under microgravity conditions? With humans on board a costly space station? Why? Plain and simple: sometimes gravity impedes research. For this reason, a space station is the only place where we can research on issues that could hitherto not be researched on due to gravity on Earth. And from that the technical achievements of the near and remote future emerge.
Space research is (almost) everywhere
Columbus
The Columbus module is the European part of the ISS. It was built by EADS Bremen and a consortium of 41 companies from 14 countries. About 100 experiments are carried out on this module, for example, in a laboratory for microorganisms, but a metal melting oven or blood centrifuges are on board the ISS as well. All of these parts have to be developed, tested, and built.
© ESA