Jumping into a reduced-gravity aircraft, listening to female astronauts tell their heroine stories and getting in touch with all kinds of space related companies for potential careers: The ILA Berlin (Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung / International Aerospace Exhibition) has a lot to offer and I went to explore it all – for my first time ever! Here is a little intro into the ILA Berlin and a review whether it is worth visiting as a general space enthusiast.
DISCLAIMER: I’M BAD AT TAKING PICTURES AND VIDEOS: EVERYTHING LOOKED 10 TIMES COOLER IN REAL LIFE.
My first time visiting ILA
Since this is a fairly new blog, this also indicates my personal engagement in aerospace and space travel is still in its bloom. While having an interest since childhood, I started pursuing this passion seriously only recently. Therefore, this was my first time attending the ILA, and also my first time attending an event of such kind in general.
Therefore, this blog post serves to give impressions as a first-timer to other potential first-timers; enthusiasts who just started following their passion. How was the experience as a newbie? And how much “space” is in the ILA, and how much is general aviation?
A brief overview on the ILA
To give a short summary with ChatGPT: “The ILA Berlin is one of the world’s premier aerospace trade shows held biennially (that means every two years :D) in Berlin, Germany. It features a comprehensive display of the latest innovations in aviation, space, and defense technology, attracting industry professionals, government officials, and aviation enthusiasts from around the globe. The event includes a variety of exhibitions, conferences, and flying displays, providing a platform for networking, business deals, and showcasing cutting-edge aerospace developments”. Also the first iteration took place in 1909, so I missed quite a few of them.
I have to admit I’m not the biggest fan of their online presence. The homepage and social media accounts alone did not fully prepare me for what will be waiting there, if anything, they are underselling themselves a bit. There was also some information I wish I found earlier, for example about the Shuttle Service or there being free cloth bags for visitors at a specific entrance (not the one I took obviously) and more info about what items are allowed inside. However, it seems like their online presence is still a bit WIP, as the Instagram account only started in June 2023. The team behind it seems very competent and lovely, so next time everything will probably be even more polished.
Finally – We are going to ILA!
So, as a warning ⚠️ for newbies: Don’t try to arrive with public transport only. The bus towards the exhibition only runs like once per hour, we had to wait in the middle of nowhere for 30 minutes all while there were amazing shuttle service busses running the entire time. Our fault! But don’t repeat our stupidity!
When arriving on site, the queuing, security check and whole process was super quick and nice. We already saw a helicopter flying looping above the area when approaching, that was definitely a hype boost.
After entering, we quickly realised: outside the scheduled program points, there is so much everywhere to explore that piques interest! We ended up ditching our program plans to just see as much as possible. The outside flying area has and incredible fleet of different planes etc lined up, lots of them even being open to be visited. While personally I came for the space aspect, the planes are so cool, both the ones on ground and the ones performing the non-stop shows, this was already captivating. We entered a reduced-gravity aircraft which is used for scientific experiments and astronauts training where there are short periods of no gravity. Of course, we didn’t fly with it and only got a short tour, but it was still incredibly amazing, especially since I have a friend who uses these for work! So cool. We also wanted to go into a US Air Force aircraft but unfortunately were too late. There were many more types lined up, giant passenger planes, small fighter jets, everything!
But now onto the halls and closer to my main point of interest. The area is HUGE and with our ticket, we only had time for 5 hours and unfortunately missed a lot. One day is definitely not enough. There are several giant main halls that all have a different theme: Aviation, Defence & Support, Advanced Air Mobility, International Supplier Center and number 4: Space. So let’s take a look at what we saw when opening the doors to this special hall!
We have reached our destination: The Space Hall!
The ILA describes the content of their space hall as such on their homepage: “Considering such topics such as astronautical or robotic missions to the moon and mars, reliable communications worldwide, high-resolution earth observation for climate protection, precise navigation for intelligent mobility, or technology transfer through research, one thing is clear: space travel is all-encompassing.”
The hall features a giant exhibition area with space-related companies having their booths. Scientific and research institutions, international space agencies such as from Japan, Korea and China, the big names such as Airbus, start-ups, everything you can imagine. The booths have different things to offer, but a lot of the content revolves around presenting themselves as a potential employee – so if you want to look around for career options, this is a perfect place to network (also in the other halls with Aviation etc.). My lovely boyfriend was having a few conversations about potential hiring, and all of them were very eager and friendly, so no need to be shy.
The hall also features a special area called Space Pavillon, which is described like this: “ILA Space Pavilion will showcase how space travel is improving life on earth. We focus on the top issues in space travel: Sustainability and climate change Digitalization Innovation and research Protection and security”. There is also a stage with panellist giving incredibly interesting insights such as astronauts and ESA employees in general, speakers from the Deutsche Raumfahrtagentur, top scientists and and and.
Needless to say, this was my favourite aspect of the whole ILA. They really did an amazing job with the set-up from a visual standpoint already, with miniature satellites and futuristic info exhibitions everywhere. Additionally, the info content really went deep and technical.
Next to the stage there was a VR area set up that from a technical standpoint went surprisingly smooth. You could select through different projects where data has been collected with satellites and the results have been visualised in some way. Such as a globe which collected an overview on all fires that happened, one with water distribution and so on. But also insights into the exploration stations on the pole and much much more.
To give a short summary from my first ever trip to ILA Berlin: It was an amazing event which I definitely want to visit again. You should definitely plan in more time than the 5h ticket, preferably two days. While originally I was only fixated on the space aspects and the program points, the entertainment offers are super diverse and intriguing. I’m looking forward to going again in two years – with more knowledge about the subject and more reasons to actually do some networking myself!
M16 Nebula 
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