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DLR developed laser communication, which is now indispensable for satellite constellations such as Starlink. Mynaric and Tesat-Spacecom are the leading companies in this area.
Munich. It was a milestone in space travel: In February 2008, the German radar satellite TerraSAR‑X made contact with the US Air Force's NFIR research satellite via laser. Up to 5.6 gigabytes per second were transmitted over 5,000 kilometers in low Earth orbit. The amount of data was considered incredibly large compared to what radio waves could previously transmit.
Without the key technology developed in Germany, satellite constellations such as Starlink from the US company SpaceX or SatcomBW from the Bundeswehr would not be able to work. Because the German Aerospace Center (DLR) developed laser communication. DLR employees finally founded the company Mynaric in 2009. Tesat-Spacecom GmbH also subsequently implemented the technology.
Both Mynaric and Tesat are still leading providers of the technology - but soon they could no longer be based in Germany.
Japan has launched the MMX mission to bring soil samples from Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos to Earth. Germany is involved through DLR and the Rover Idefix. The mission is intended to lay the technological foundations for future manned flights to Mars and costs significantly less than the failed European-American Mars sample return project.

The laser communication technology developed in Germany is essential for global satellite networks such as Starlink. However, the leading providers Mynaric and Tesat-Spacecom could soon leave Germany.

Rheinmetall begins series production of SAR satellites in Neuss in cooperation with ICEYE. A 1.7 billion euro contract secures the Bundeswehr exclusive access to reconnaissance technology that precisely records troop movements in all weather conditions.
SpaceX's Starship rocket system took off from Texas for a ten-hour test flight. The goal is to reach Earth orbit and deploy Starlink satellites for the first time. The system is designed for lunar and Mars missions.

The number of satellites and space debris in Earth orbit is increasing rapidly, according to ESA's new space environmental report. Commercial constellations like Starlink are driving the increase as hundreds of payloads are launched into orbit every day.

At the first European space summit in Paris with around 2,000 participants, contracts worth around 20 billion euros were concluded to strengthen Europe's position in space compared to the USA and China.