Successful ILA 2026: Exchange, Innovation and Enthusiasm for Space

15.06.2026

Successful ILA 2026: Exchange, Innovation and Enthusiasm for Space

An exciting and successful week at ILA 2026 has come to an end. For DLR GfR, the exhibition provided numerous opportunities to engage with partners, customers, stakeholders, and representatives from government, industry, academia, and the aerospace community.

One of the week’s highlights was the visit of our new DLR shareholder representative, Stéphane Beemelmans, who will serve as DLR’s primary point of contact for DLR GfR going forward. Together with our Managing Directors Walter Päffgen, Rolf Kozlowski, and Christian Jensen, he took part in a constructive exchange on current developments and future cooperation between DLR and DLR GfR.

The exhibition also offered many valuable technical discussions. We were particularly pleased to welcome Major General Michael Traut for a spontaneous visit to our booth. The discussion focused on our JASP-R service, which helps users detect GNSS interference such as jamming and spoofing and supports safe mission and flight planning through improved situational awareness. The exchange once again highlighted the growing importance of resilient navigation solutions for both civil and military applications.

Another major attraction at our booth was the interactive JASP-R VR experience. Visitors stepped into the role of pilots and re-planned flight routes to safely avoid known GNSS jamming and spoofing areas. The game provided an engaging and hands-on demonstration of how JASP-R contributes to safer navigation in challenging environments.

Our astronaut also attracted significant attention throughout the first two days, helping to promote SpaceOps 2027. The international conference on space operations will be jointly hosted by DLR GfR and DLR in Munich next year.

The public days over the weekend brought particularly high visitor numbers to our booth. Space enthusiasts of all ages took the opportunity to learn more about DLR GfR and participate in our prize wheel. Every full hour, visitors had the chance to win exciting prizes, creating plenty of excitement and memorable moments.

We would like to thank all visitors for their interest, the inspiring conversations, and the many new connections made throughout the week.

A special thank you goes to all colleagues who helped prepare, organize, and support our exhibition presence. Their dedication, expertise, and enthusiasm played a key role in making our participation at ILA 2026 such a success.

After the exhibition is before the exhibition: We are already looking forward to the next major international gathering of the space community and hope to see many familiar and new faces again at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Antalya this October.