European Space Agency to establish groundbreaking centre in Poland

A groundbreaking European Space Agency centre will be established in Poland. It will be the first facility of its kind in the organisation's history to be located outside the territory of the Agency's founding Member States.

"Europe cannot afford to fall behind the US and China in the space race. The European Space Agency Centre in Poland confirms our ambitions and capabilities. One of our objectives is to build the first Polish spacecraft," said Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The new Centre opens a new chapter in ESA’s development. Its task will be to strengthen the Agency’s capabilities by developing niche and innovative areas of activity. Crucially, the Polish centre will complement, rather than duplicate, the expertise and programmes of existing ESA structures, CE Report informs via the Ministry of Economic Development and Tecnology of the Republic of Poland's official website.

"Over the past few weeks, we have held intensive discussions and conducted detailed analyses with representatives of numerous Polish cities and regions. The process of selecting the location of the ESA Centre in Poland was carried out according to clearly defined criteria set out by the European Space Agency," emphasised Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domański.

"The new ESA Centre opens a new chapter in the Agency’s history and marks an important step for Poland, which has rapidly become one of the driving forces of the European space sector. At a time when Europe is continuously strengthening its resilience in an increasingly challenging environment, the Centre will help build the capabilities needed to protect our interests, support our citizens and take decisive action. The new ESA Centre in Warsaw will contribute to these ambitions while building on Poland’s growing expertise and commitment in space technologies," said Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency.

"Given today’s geopolitical realities, we attach particular importance to strengthening Europe’s resilience through space and supporting its competitiveness. Today’s decision identifies the location of the new ESA Centre, but at the same time forms part of a much broader strategy. Our ambition is for the development of the space sector to provide an impetus for many cities and regions across Poland," added Minister Andrzej Domański.

Key areas of activity of the new facility

The ESA Centre in Warsaw will focus on security, resilience and dual-use technologies. The Centre will develop advanced solutions that enhance Europe’s ability to anticipate, respond to and recover from contemporary threats.

The main pillars of the Centre’s activities will be:

• Crisis management – developing innovative solutions for civil protection.
• In-orbit operations – conducting simulations of advanced space missions.
• Satellite service monitoring – analysing disruptions affecting their proper functioning.

The ESA Centre will also serve as a platform for cooperation between public administration, industry, the scientific community and international partners. The initiative will provide an additional impetus for the development of new technologies and innovative research and development projects. The Warsaw facility will also create new employment and professional development opportunities for graduates of Polish universities.

Poland has been a member of ESA since 2012 and has steadily increased its involvement in the organisation’s activities, as best demonstrated by its declared contribution of EUR 731 million for 2026–2028. This is an investment in the future – in innovation, modern technologies, security and the competitiveness of the Polish economy. Participation in the Ignis mission was not the finish line; it was the beginning. The potential being built by Polish cities and Polish research centres must be fully harnessed. That is why we will create a network integrating and developing space industry infrastructure in Polish cities. Entities within the PFR Group, in particular Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, will soon establish a dedicated fund with assets of up to half a billion złoty, which will be earmarked for investment in companies from the space sector," said Minister Andrzej Domański.

Plans for the development of the ESA Centre in Warsaw envisage its gradual evolution into a centre for testing and validating security technologies, including next-generation secure satellite communications. According to ESA’s plans, the Warsaw facility could begin operations in 2027.

Photo: Ministry of Economic Development and Tecnology of the Republic of Poland