Poland's space plans. Domański takes the “first step”, Warsaw is an important player in ESA
2025-11-27 16:09, updated 2025-11-27 18:37
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2025-11-27 16:09
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2025-11-27 18:37
During the Ministerial Council of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Bremen, Germany, Poland declared a contribution of nearly EUR 550 million to ESA's optional programs for 2026-2028, the Ministry of Development reported. A letter of intent was also signed regarding the construction of an ESA center in Poland.
“In this way, we become a strategic partner of ESA and strengthen our position as a technological leader in Central and Eastern Europe. We consistently invest in programs with high added value that support the development of an economy based on innovation and future technologies,” said the Minister of Finance and Economy, Andrzej Domański, quoted in the release of the Ministry of Development and Technology.
The minister emphasized that Poland had doubled its contribution to ESA's optional technological programs.
The Polish contribution of nearly EUR 550 million for 2026-2028 is to cover ESA's optional programs in the field of: Earth observation, secure communications, space transport, on-orbit servicing, space security, robotic exploration and the development of technology and equipment for future missions.
“The ESA programs subscribed to by Poland create new opportunities for companies and research institutes that provide technologies and services of increasing complexity. These are investments in competences, state security and the development of a modern economy,” the Ministry of Energy and Technology said.
The Polish contribution to ESA has increased tenfold in the last 3 years
The Ministry of Development noted that our country has increased its contribution to ESA tenfold in the last three years, which reflects trust in ESA and the belief in the importance of the projects it implements.
“Poland remains ready to further increase its participation in ESA initiatives and actively co-create the European space policy. Cooperation of member states is key to maintaining a strong, safe and competitive position of Europe in the global space sector,” the statement concluded.
On Thursday, a letter of intent was also signed in Bremen regarding the construction of a European Space Agency center in Poland.
– Poland attaches the highest importance to increasing Europe's capabilities to deal with various challenges in and from space. (…) We confirm our commitment that we want to be a partner when it comes to the European approach to space, security and resilience, said Minister Domański in Bremen, after signing the letter.
He said that the future ESA center in Poland is a “significant step that is a symbol of European unity and strategic opportunity.” He also noted that Poland's clear goal is that the future ESA center in Poland should serve all member states, offering knowledge, opportunities and support.
“The center will support the development of Poland as an emerging space power”
Talks regarding the establishment of the center were also announced in the ESA announcement. “The potential center in Poland would complement existing security and resilience activities, in particular those conducted by the European Space Security and Education Center (ESEC) in Belgium. It would also support the effective and coherent development of European space security and resilience capabilities,” ESA said in a statement sent to PAP on Thursday.
As reported, during the ESA Ministerial Council (CM25), Poland committed to participate in the European initiative “Resilience from Space”, which will coordinate the development of dual-use technologies (dual-use technologies – for civilian and military purposes). The initiative will share European, national and commercial resources to provide users with reliable, secure and up-to-date information.
Poland joined ESA in 2012 and since then – as it was emphasized – it has demonstrated a “significant increase in potential and opportunities in the field of space”, and over the last three years it has increased its financial contribution to ESA tenfold.
ESA noted that currently over 70 companies “contribute to strengthening Poland's position in the global space industry” and mentioned the “successful” IGNIS mission, in which a Pole, ESA project astronaut, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, took part.
The ESA announcement also informed that Poland is already the host of business incubation centers of the European Space Agency, including: in Warsaw, Rzeszów, Gdańsk, Poznań and Wrocław.
ESA head: member states will allocate EUR 22.1 billion to implement the agency's strategy
Members of the European Space Agency will allocate a total of EUR 22.1 billion to implement its strategy, announced the director of this organization, Josef Aschbacher, on Thursday at the meeting of the Ministerial Council of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Bremen, Germany.
– You wrote history (…). This is the first Ministerial Council where the amount proposed by the ESA director was almost reached, said Aschbacher. He added that it is also an expression of trust and a great success.
Aschbacher emphasized that the financial effort of member states shows how important space is for Europe. At the same time, he emphasized that this is an area in which Europe must catch up, but the ministers present at the Ministerial Council showed that this challenge was taken up and treated seriously.
On Wednesday, the director of ESA announced that this European institution intends to allocate the most funds to space transport – it will amount to EUR 3,895 million. The programs that fall into this area of development include: design of the Ariane 6 launch vehicle, which, among others, is intended to give European countries the opportunity to launch their satellites into space, without the support of other powers.
On Thursday, it was announced that ESA member states supported this initiative and allocated EUR 4.4 billion for this purpose, which is more than declared at the beginning.
The areas whose budget – according to Wednesday's proposal – was to exceed the amount of EUR 3 billion, also include ESA research programs (Science Program) and space exploration by humans and robots (Human and Robotic Exploration). After negotiations, the first of these areas achieved a budget close to the announced amount – the total contribution amounted to EUR 3.787 billion; However, the second area, i.e. the exploration program, was supported with a budget lower than intended – EUR 2.9 billion was raised for it.
In October, the head of ESA told PAP that “constructive talks” were taking place with the Polish government regarding the construction of the center. – I understand Poland's ambition to create a center here focusing on security and defense. I strongly support this initiative and I can assure you that we are working intensively together to determine what such a center could look like, the official told PAP at the time. In this context, Josef Aschbacher considered important the parallel plans to create a Satellite Operations Center in Poland, the creation of which was announced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
On Thursday in Bremen, when asked about the Satellite Operations Center, Aschbacher replied that talks had been held with several countries, including Poland, about the construction of this center. He added that a working group has been established to define the details. He noted that talks with member states were still ongoing.
– Poland has been very active for a year, asking for the activation of the European Resilience from Space (ERS) program, Aschbacher noted.
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