Oberpfaffenhofen

Oberpfaffenhofen is a village that is part of the municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is located 20 km (12 mi) from the city center of Munich.

German Space Operations Center (GSOC) in Oberpfaffenhofen

Oberpfaffenhofen
Ortsteil of Weßling
Coat of arms
Location of Oberpfaffenhofen within Starnberg district
Oberpfaffenhofen Show map of Germany Oberpfaffenhofen Show map of Bavaria
Coordinates: 48°4′41″N 11°15′9″E
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Oberbayern
District	Starnberg
Municipality	Weßling
Population  (1987)
• Total	1,323
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	STA
Website	www.gemeinde-wessling.de

The village is home to the Oberpfaffenhofen airport and a major site of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR). Oberpfaffenhofen became known to a wide audience when, in 1983, the first West-German astronaut, the physicist Ulf Merbold, flew to space on board a Space Shuttle in a Spacelab mission. These missions were partly supervised by the German Space Operations Center located at Oberpfaffenhofen.[1]

The research center in Oberpfaffenhofen houses the DLR, including the Columbus Control Center which DLR operates for the European Space Agency and Airbus Defence and Space, and also some Fraunhofer Institutes and other scientific institutes. From 2014, OHB group moved the division which formerly was Kayser-Threde, from Munich to Oberpfaffenhofen.

Also situated in Oberpfaffenhofen is the industrial area of (the now insolvent) Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH (later part of Fairchild Dornier). The aircraft manufacturer shared the airfield with the DLR.

During the occupation of Germany the airport was designated Oberpfaffenhofen Air Force Depot which also served as the maintenance depot for the aircraft that were utilized during the Berlin Airlift of 1948–49.