WE FOSTER ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Polaris
In our second episode, we visit Polaris, a company insured by HDI Global Specialty: The German aerospace startup aims to revolutionise aerospace by developing a novel reusable space launch and hypersonic transport system that works like an aircraft. The spaceplane combines aircraft and rocket launcher technologies in a unique design. It can operate like an aircraft from airports and does not require a launch pad with complex and expensive infrastructure.
At the company's site in Bremen, Germany, Polaris engineers and technicians are building a series of full-scale flight demonstrators that represent the geometry of the future spaceplane. By 2028, a so-called light spaceplane shall be able to carry satellites weighing up to 1,000 kilograms into orbit, as well as payloads up to ten times that weight on suborbital or hypersonic flights. The so-called heavy spaceplane is expected to be operational in the early 2030s. It shall be able to carry heavier payloads into space as well as passengers. Polaris started in 2020 with a 2.5 metre long demonstrator. The “Mira” demonstrator shown in the video is almost twice as long and is the first to use rocket engine, which has already been successfully tested on flat ground. The final spaceplane, which is the focus of the Polaris vision, will be around 30 metres long.
Flight testings of the demonstrators take place at Peenemünde airport on the German Baltic coast. Each test is a challenge, involving complex logistics - from organising transport and obtaining regulatory approvals, to airspace closures and last-minute weather disruptions. And this is where our purpose comes in: such aircraft may not be operated in Germany without third party liability insurance, which is required by law. As a partner in transformation, @HDI Global Specialty is working closely with Polaris to develop tailor-made insurance cover for the individual development stages of the flight demonstrators.
Together we take care of the unexpected and foster entrepreneurship.
Status: 17.04.2023
