Development of reusable spaceplanes and linear aerospike rocket engines in Bremen.
POLARIS Raumflugzeuge GmbH
BremenNew on Amplifa
About POLARIS Raumflugzeuge
POLARIS Raumflugzeuge GmbH is an aerospace engineering company founded in 2019 as a spin-off of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and headquartered in Bremen. The company develops horizontally launching and landing reusable spaceplanes of the AURORA and VEGA product lines as well as unmanned aerial refueling systems and tactical defense products. The associated linear aerospike rocket engines (AS-1B, AS-1F) are fully developed and qualified in-house; they are operated on kerosene or synthetic kerosene (SAF) and liquid oxygen (LOX). Airframes of the flight demonstrators are manufactured using fiberglass sandwich construction; in the EFRE-funded HOPAR project, POLARIS is developing high-temperature composite solutions for outer structures of hypersonic vehicles together with DLR and FIBRE. Customers include the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr)/BAAINBw, Diehl Defence, DLR and FIBRE. As of June 2026, the company employs 105 team members and has, with a fleet of seven built and flown demonstrators, completed 250 test flights and 49 aerospike hotfire tests.
- Site
- Bremen
- Processes
- Development and manufacturing of aerospace structures in fiberglass sandwich construction, In-house development and qualification of linear aerospike rocket engines (AS-1B, AS-1F), Structural manufacturing of prototypes and flight demonstrators (design-build-fly), Development of high-temperature composite solutions for outer structures (project HOPAR with DLR and, Development of reusable spaceplanes, Development of linear aerospike rocket engines (in-house), Hypersonic research platforms, Unmanned tanker/aerial refueling systems
- Materials
- Fiberglass (fiberglass sandwich structure), Kerosene (fuel), Synthetic kerosene (SAF), Liquid oxygen (LOX), High-temperature composites (outer structures, project HOPAR), Fiberglass sandwich structure, High-temperature composites, Kerosene or synthetic kerosene (SAF)
- Founded
- 2019
- Employees
- 105
- Industries
- Space, Aerospace Engineering, Defense, Hypersonics, Satellite Launch Services, Satellite Launch Services (Small/Medium Satellites)
- 01
Engineering & Design
- 02
Structural manufacturing of the airframes (fiberglass sandwich)
- 03
In-house development and qualification of the aerospike engines
- 04
Assembly of the demonstrators
- 05
Testing in the design-build-fly cycle
- 06
Operation of the flight demonstrators
Materials & Processes
Fiberglass sandwich structure
Base architecture of the airframes of demonstrators such as MIRA II and ATHENA, with low mass at high stiffness.
High-temperature composites
Materials developed in the HOPAR project with DLR and FIBRE for heat-stressed outer structures of reusable hypersonic vehicles.
Kerosene or synthetic kerosene (SAF)
Fuel for turbine propulsion and the aerospike rocket engine; SAF is intended to replace conventional kerosene in the long term.
Liquid oxygen
Oxidizer for the LOX/kerosene aerospike rocket engines of the AS-1 family.
Sites
Bremen
DEHeadquarters, development and manufacturing
- Lot size
- Prototypes, small series
- Materials
- Fiberglass sandwich, high-temperature composites
Flight Demonstrators & Systems
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development and manufacturing of aerospace structures in fiberglass sandwich constructionJoining | – | – | – | – | Fiberglass, Core material (sandwich) |
| In-house development and qualification of linear aerospike rocket engines (AS-1B, AS-1F)Engineering | – | – | – | – | Kerosene, SAF, LOX |
| Structural manufacturing of prototypes and flight demonstrators (design-build-fly)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Fiberglass, Kerosene, LOX |
| Development of high-temperature composite solutions for outer structures (project HOPAR with DLR andEngineering | – | – | – | – | High-temperature composites |
Additional services
Reference customers
Company History
- 2019
Founded as a DLR spin-off by Alexander Kopp
- 2021
Military science research contract from the Bundeswehr (project RDRS)
- 2023
Order from BAAINBw for development of the linear aerospike engine AS-1; first test firings of AS-1B/AS-1F; first flight of MIRA under turbine power
- 2024-02
MIRA (I) damaged in a taxiing accident, switch to MIRA II/III
- 2024-10-29
World's first in-flight ignition of a linear aerospike engine (AS-1F) on MIRA II under a BAAINBw contract; investment by Dienes Holding, 7.1 Mio. € capital raised in total
- 2025-02-27
Order from BAAINBw for development of a two-stage reusable hypersonic spaceplane
- 2025
Contract with Diehl Defence for development of air-launched defense systems
- 2026-01
Bundeswehr contract for a two-stage, fully reusable hypersonic research aircraft (readiness to fly targeted for 2027)
- 2026
As of June 2026: 105 team members, 20 Mio. € raised, 7 demonstrators built/flown, 250 test flights, 49 aerospike hotfire tests