OtherBremen, DE
POLARIS
Reusable spaceplanes and aerospike engines
- Founded
- 2019
- Team
- 51-200
Timeline 4 moments
Latest · Cobra 600 UAV completes maiden flight 2mo agoAbout
Builds horizontal-takeoff reusable spaceplanes and linear aerospike engines for orbital satellite launch, hypersonic research and defense, with a fleet of scaled flight demonstrators.
POLARIS develops aircraft-like reusable spaceplanes that take off and land on conventional runways. The flagship light spaceplane Aurora is a two-stage vehicle designed for up to 1 t orbital payload or multi-ton suborbital/hypersonic loads, powered by turbojets plus in-house LOX/kerosene linear aerospike engines. A longer-term heavy fully-reusable orbital spaceplane is planned for the early 2030s. The company also builds tactical uncrewed aircraft such as the Cobra 600 missile carrier.
It has flown seven scaled demonstrators (including MIRA II, the first vehicle to ignite a linear aerospike in flight) accumulating more than 250 test flights, many under Bundeswehr/BAAINBw contracts. In January 2026 it received a major BAAINBw contract to build and flight-test the fighter-sized two-stage HYTEV hypersonic research vehicle by end-2027. Additional work includes an exclusive cooperation with Diehl Defence on the AirLAS airborne IRIS-T launch system and materials research with DLR.
Founded in 2019 in Bremen by Alexander Kopp as a DLR spin-off; second site opened at Peenemünde Airport in 2025. Team size grew past 100 by mid-2026; roughly €20 million private capital raised.
Timeline
- Success 18 FOMO
Cobra 600 UAV completes maiden flight
POLARIS conducted the first flight of its Cobra 600 UAV over the Baltic Sea. The ~600 kg jet-powered platform, developed with Diehl Defence under AirLAS, is designed to carry and launch an IRIS-T missile as a reusable airborne launcher.
- Announced 13 FOMO
POLARIS prepares first flight of NOVA supersonic demonstrator
POLARIS indicated that its 8.5 m NOVA demonstrator was nearing first flight. The vehicle is intended to demonstrate safe, repeatable rocket-powered supersonic flight at high altitude under full airport regulatory conditions and is described as the final demonstrator before operational vehicles.
- Announced 77 FOMO
BAAINBw awards HYTEV reusable hypersonic vehicle contract
BAAINBw awarded POLARIS a contract to manufacture and operate the two-stage, fully reusable HYTEV hypersonic research vehicle of fighter-jet size. Flight readiness is targeted for end-2027; secondary role is smallsat launch with an expendable upper stage.
- Success 8 FOMO
POLARIS demonstrator fleet reaches 250 flights
The company’s seven scaled spaceplane demonstrators collectively completed 250 test flights. The announcement underscores rapid iteration and risk reduction ahead of larger vehicles such as NOVA and HYTEV.
Signals
- 13 Why Is POLARIS Combining Jet Engines and Aerospike Rockets in a Spaceplane? New Space Economy
- 30 German Startup Polaris Completes Maiden Flight of Cobra 600 Missile-Carrying Drone Aviation News
- 27 Polaris Raumflugzeuge prepares first flight of the next prototype heise online
- 21 Germany Advances Reusable Hypersonic Vehicle Program with Polaris The Aviationist
- 27 POLARIS Spaceplanes Wins Contract for Reusable Hypersonic Vehicle European Spaceflight
- 87 Polaris secures Bundeswehr equipment office contract to build and flight-test reusable hypersonic vehicle Defence Industry Europe
- 21 We are celebrating 250 flights of our vehicle fleet! POLARIS
People
Headquarters
POLARIS is headquartered in Bremen, Germany (53.08°N 8.80°E).
Hardware Fleet
28 m two-stage horizontal-takeoff reusable spaceplane for up to 1 000 kg to LEO or multi-ton suborbital/hypersonic payloads. Aircraft-like runway operations; LOX/kerosene aerospike plus turbojets.
Two-stage fully reusable horizontal-takeoff hypersonic research vehicle of fighter-jet size and mass, powered by turbofans plus aerospike on the main stage and a rocket upper stage. Primary role is hypersonic testbed; secondary role smallsat launch with expendable upper stage. Flight readiness targeted end-2027 under BAAINBw contract.
5 m glass-fiber sandwich demonstrator, design take-off mass 240 kg, four turbojets plus 1 kN LOX/kerosene linear aerospike AS-1F. First vehicle worldwide to ignite a linear aerospike rocket engine in flight (29 Oct 2024). BVLOS-capable with redundant FTS.
Jet-powered uncrewed aircraft of ~600 kg take-off mass developed with Diehl Defence under the AirLAS programme to carry and launch a single IRIS-T air-to-air missile, extending engagement range as a reusable missile taxi.
Live simulation
Interactive browser-native 3D flight telemetry for POLARIS's hardware.