Dr. Walther Pelzer is Member of the DLR Executive Board and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR. In his vast and prolific carrier, Dr. Pelzer has been responsible for a variety of tasks in the area of value-creation management as well as strategy and technology. His remits include positions within industry on a national as well as international level, including managerial appointments at Degussa AG (later FERRO Corp.) and Pankl Racing AG. From 2007 to 2015 Dr. Pelzer was Director and subsequently Deputy Director General of the Research and Technology Department at the Ministry of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia.
In an interview with Geospatial World he reflects on current developments in the space sector and how space can help to tackle global challenges.
The global space industry could generate $1.1 trillion or more in revenue by 2040. What factors are driving this space economy?
Certainly, there are many drivers boosting the space economy to ever new heights and they are closely interconnected at many levels. What we all can agree on is the fact that the emergence of New Space has been a game changer for the global space economy. This means in particular the introduction of increased competition, new technologies and processes, which are lowering manufacturing and associated costs. This interconnects with access to space becoming cheaper. With respect to the industrial landscape it is not only big players anymore – start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises are entering the scene in large numbers, coming up with innovative approaches in the upstream sector as well as in the downstream businesses.
DLR has three main goals. First, the European Green Deal and Earth Observation program. Second, independence and international cooperation. Third is, fostering innovation.
Awareness, not only in the space industry but other industries as well, of the fact that space data is available and can add extensive value to different workflows, has been a game changer. Industrial players way beyond the traditional space industries include space services, data and applications in their business portfolio directly or by enhancing their product portfolio. A combination of all these factors is thriving the space sector.
Germany is the largest financial contributor to the European Space Agency (ESA). What are your priorities after the recent ESA ministerial council?
First of all, I am glad that Germany with its commitment of 3.6 billion euros remains a central partner in European space activities. Together, the 22 ESA Member States commit to a total funding of 16.9 billion euros, which is a fantastic overall result. With respect to Germany’s contributions to ESA, both from a financial and policy point of view, we clearly identify three priorities. First, we put a decisive focus on supporting the European Green Deal. ESA’s progam portfolio especially in the Earth Observation (EO) domain has valuable contributions that
we strive to support. Second, we aim at fostering the European discussion on the right balance between independence and international cooperation when it comes to space infrastructures. From a German point of view, we believe it is important to have strategic independence – meaning we select specific technological capabilities and be world-class in them. This not only gives us an edge in technology development and innovation capability, but makes Europe a valuable partner of choice internationally. One of the best examples here is the European Service Module, which is an essential element of NASA’s Artemis program and, therefore, future boots on the moon.
As another priority we aim at fostering innovation in the launcher sector. We are supporting the preparations for a successful maiden flight of ESA’s Ariane 6 – the heavy launcher Europe relies on for the next decade. At the same time, Germany is the driver behind additional support for privately developed launcher systems in Europe with the aim of diversifying the European launcher market and introducing competition to the sector.
Beside our commitments in the frame of the Ministerial Conference, I am humbled that after being elected by the other Member States, Germany will now hold the ESA Council Presidency for the next three years and host the next Ministerial Council in 2025. In this role, Germany intends to contribute to a strong ESA that harnesses the opportunities provided by space for the good of Europe and our planet. The contribution of spaceflight to climate protection, the strengthening of European sovereignty in strategically important space domains and the boost to innovation, and cost efficiency achieved through the promotion of New Space approaches are important cornerstones for this.
How are you addressing the climate crisis?
Germany has always been one of the staunchest supporters of the European EO program Copernicus, which is the most proliferated civil earth observation constellation in the world. Copernicus provides unique information about the past, present and future of our climate and the data generated by its sentinels constitutes the basis for indispensable applications and tools that help to enable climate change mitigation. In 2019, we committed to enhancing it with six additional satellites, which are currently under development.
With climate monitoring as one of our top priorities. Germany on a national level has launched the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP) in 2022. This hyperspectral satellite mission monitors and characterizes Earth’s environment on a global scale.
I am also thrilled that DLR along with NASA paved the way for GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment). This award-winning mission studied key changes in the planet’s waters, ice sheets, and solid earth. In 2027, the German-French MERLIN (Methane Remote Sensing Lidar Mission) satellite will be launched with the objective to measure atmospheric methane concentrations with unprecedented precision and will help to better understand the sources of greenhouse gas playing a pivotal role in global warming. We also have a strategic partnership with JAXA for monitoring greenhouse gas levels.
We must be aware that climatic change is a global challenge. Reliable data and huge investments are needed to tackle it, which further requires international collaboration between space agencies.
What are the new approaches to resilient and alternate PNT (positioning, navigation, and timing) systems?
If you look at the new generation Galileo, we are making the atomic clocks resilient and stable. We are also working on introducing optical clocks, which show an even better performance. Thirdly, there’s a lot of focus on signal power. The new generation PNT satellites are bigger and heavier than before because they will provide much more power to make the navigation signals significantly stronger.
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Until now, PNT satellites have been outside the lower earth orbit (LEO). But ESA’s LEO-PNT program aims at extending GNSS to a ‘multilayer system of systems’ approach, with medium-Earth orbit signals supplemented by those from LEO satellites.
Not the least, we are also looking into merging 5G/6G and even terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcast technology with satellite navigation. The combination of alternative PNT technologies will be essential to achieve strong resilience.
The rise of commercial use of space is transforming the space industry worldwide. What is DLR’s approach and view on this?
The German Aerospace Center is a dual-capacity entity with two main pillars under its roof. On the one hand, it is one of Europe’s biggest research and development facilities, with space being one of its scientific disciplines. On the other hand, it is home to the German Space Agency.
From a research and development perspective, we develop cutting-edge science with commercialization in mind. We transfer knowledge and technology to the industry. So, when our scientists come up with new programs, we ask them, “How are you going to transfer the knowledge to the industries? Who are your partners?” In addition, we have special programs to foster start-ups. Many start-ups have come out of DLR, and we already have a large portfolio of impressive success stories of our spinoffs.
We must be aware that climatic change is a global challenge. Reliable data and huge investments are needed to tackle it, which further requires international collaboration between space agencies.
From the German Space Agency’s point of view, we are at the forefront in Europe regarding commercialization and related programs. For example, we are financing and supporting a micro-launcher competition for German start-ups that aim at developing and commercially operate micro-launchers. While we have three promising start-ups in this field, which are all progressing well from a technology point of view, we must also be sure to back up their efforts from a policy perspective. Therefore, in the course of the ESA Ministerial Conference, we pushed for these companies get access to ESA payloads and establish a true level playing field.
With the changing global security scenario and the space race increasing, what kind of future do you see?
The Ukraine war has been a game changer for the space sector in Europe. It has clearly reinforced the notion that security in space and security from space are important not only from a global perspective but especially for Europe.
Space is part of our daily life, and therefore, it is part of politics. We must think of securing every aspect of the space sector securing satellites and communication between satellites – applications, cybersecurity, ground stations, and so on. The EU also sees the importance of a sovereign communication capability and has launched its ‘Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnection and Security by Satellites’ (IRIS²), a third ‘space flagship’ program alongside Galileo and Copernicus, in order to build its own satellite system for secure communications for the EU.
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