GESTRA ("German Experimental Surveillance and Tracking Radar") is a radar system for observing and tracking objects in space. It operates in the microwave range and explores the Low Earth Orbit of 300 to 3,000 kilometres – enhancing national and European space situational awareness.
Products & Services
HAP-alpha
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Between Earth and space: stratosphere-compatible, solar-powered high-altitude aircraft, known as HAPs (High Altitude Platforms), offer a sustainable alternative to satellites for Earth observation and communication. They are reusable, cost-effective and flexible in use. The DLR joint project HAP-alpha is developing such a technology demonstrator and is endeavoring to establish a complete system capable of permanent operation. The aim is for DLR to build up comprehensive expertise for the development of high-performance, high-flying solar aircraft and to play an active role in shaping the legal framework. In summer 2025, the HAP-alpha successfully passed a ground vibration test.
Neustrelitz Receiving Station
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Neustrelitz is located 100 kilometres north of Berlin. Here, DLR receives data from the German radar missions TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, the KOMPSAT satellites of the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the European Sentinel fleet and the American Landsat series, among others. The multi-antenna and multi-mission configuration of the ground station allows information products to be delivered to customers within minutes after data reception. These include products for national and European authorities for maritime safety, such as wind and sea state estimates, ice classification, ship navigation through ice-covered waters, detection of navigation irregularities or oil spills as well as the space weather. The Neustrelitz ground station offers data reception in the S, X, and Ka bands as well as data uplink in the S and X bands.
Maritime Situation Image
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
The DLR exhibit "Maritime Situation Image" at the Seoul ADEX 2025 uses a VR presentation to illustrate how the use of maritime situation images can be utilised for the protection of maritime infrastructures. Three subject areas are presented and explained: the ‘SeaCat’ autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) concept on object detection in the underwater area, the topic muon tomography, i.e. the use of cosmic radiation (muons) for the tomographic examination of objects such as freight containers, and Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) on the detection of ships and submerged objects using fibre optic cables on the seabed.
Description
Whether satellites, spacecraft or space debris – GESTRA, the "German Experimental Surveillance and Tracking Radar", is a state-of-the-art radar system for observing and tracking objects in space. It operates in the microwave range and explores the Low Earth Orbit of 300 to 3,000 kilometres, i.e. the range in which most satellites and the International Space Station (ISS) are located. This makes it possible, for example, to protect space systems or the ISS from a collision with debris particles by providing a timely warning. Millions of tiny particles orbit the earth and, at a speed of around 28,000 km/h, pose a threat to active space technologies. GESTRA was developed and built by the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR on behalf of the German Space Agency at DLR.
