Germany Commissions Development of Hypersonic Spaceplane

German outlet Hartpunkt reported that Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support has awarded a contract to develop a reusable, two-stage hypersonic research spacecraft.

The project has been entrusted to POLARIS Raumflugzeuge, a German startup that will oversee the spacecraft’s development, production of future variants, and flight testing of a full-scale model.

The spacecraft will serve as a hypersonic test platform for defense and scientific research.

In addition to research applications, the spacecraft is being considered as a small satellite launcher, benefiting from significantly shorter launch preparation times due to its reusable design.

POLARIS aims to develop a fully reusable spaceplane prototype by 2028, capable of carrying up to 1,000 kilograms into orbit.

The company is also exploring its use as a space reconnaissance aircraft, which could provide real-time intelligence while remaining immune to anti-satellite weapons.

It is expected that this opportunity will allow the German Armed Forces to have up-to-date intelligence data on the enemy, and the aircraft itself will not be under the threat of anti-satellite weapons.

The development process involves progressively larger prototypes. The most advanced model to date is about five meters long and weighs 240 kilograms.

By the end of 2025, the company expects to conduct the first flight of an eight-meter-long spaceplane weighing between 1.5 and 2 tons.

POLARIS currently operates eight prototypes as technology demonstrators, with the ninth set to be the spaceplane ordered by the German Ministry of Defense.

Militarnyi previously reported that U.S. company Stratolaunch secured a $24.7 million contract from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to test a hypersonic aircraft.

The contract includes upgrades to the Spirit of Mojave carrier aircraft, a modified Boeing 747-400.

It will serve as a launch platform for the Talon-A hypersonic vehicle.