Poland will host the first European Space Agency center located in an eastern flank member state, one dedicated to civil security and resilience. Prime Minister Donald Tusk and ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher announced the facility during a July 13 press conference in Warsaw.
Headquartered in Paris, ESA operates facilities in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. The new Polish center will focus on dual-use research and activities spanning science, technology, business and security.
Poland is dramatically scaling up its space investments. The government increased its ESA contribution tenfold, committing EUR 51M in 2023-2025 and EUR 550M in 2026-2028. Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski announced the nation aims to double space sector expenditure in coming years, with Poland’s total ESA contribution reaching EUR 731M ($833M) for 2026-2028.
Warsaw will also establish a new state-run fund worth more than $132M to invest in prospective space companies. Local players such as Creotech Instruments, Eycore and SatRev are already expanding capacity and securing foreign clients.
ESA said preparations for numerous pre-operational activities will begin in 2027, laying the groundwork for the facility’s gradual development. The center is expected to become operational over the following years, strengthening Europe’s space security posture on its eastern frontier.
