By 
February 7th, 2026
Image credit: Polaris Spaceplanes
Polaris Spaceplanes is a German aerospace startup developing a reusable space launch and hypersonic transport system.
The group has received a Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support contract for manufacturing and operating a two-stage, horizontal take-off and fully reusable hypersonic research vehicle.
This two-stage system is to serve as a hypersonic testbed & experimental platform for defense-related as well as scientific/institutional research, Polaris reports. In a secondary function, the vehicle can be used as a spaceplane for launching small-satellites when using an expendable upper-stage.
Preparatory work on the HYTEV (Hypersonic Test and Experimentation Vehicle) was carried out in 2024 and 2025.
Image credit: Polaris Spaceplanes
Test sites
“The system with the size and take-off mass of a fighter jet is to be flight ready by the end of 2027,” states Polaris. “The main stage is to be powered by 2 x turbofans and an aerospike rocket engine, while the upper-stage is rocket-powered only.”
Polaris Aerospace officially established a second company site at the “Test- und Forschungsflugfeld Peenemünde”, complementing the group’s main site in Bremen, Germany.
Having a permanent location at Peenemünde Airport allows the company to accelerate flight testing and R&D activities.
Image credit: Polaris Spaceplanes
Iterative approach
The group is building and operating scaled spaceplane demonstrators for technology validation and risk reduction. This iterative approach has enabled use of a series of flight demonstrators of increasing size, mass and complexity.
For example, on October 29, 2024, the organization’s MIRA II performed the first ever in-flight ignition of a linear aerospike rocket engine. The vehicle was equipped with 4 turbojets and a 1 kN linear aerospike rocket engine
For details on Polaris Spaceplanes, go to:
Posted in Space News
