Warsaw will host a new centre of the European Space Agency, marking a significant milestone for Poland’s rapidly developing space sector and its growing role in European technological policy.

The decision was announced on Monday in Warsaw by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher during a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domański.

“This is a very important day for Poland’s ambitions,” Tusk said. “The European Space Agency Centre in Poland confirms both our ambitions and our capabilities. Europe cannot afford to fall behind the United States and China in the global space race.”

The prime minister described Poland as a European leader in expanding investment in the space sector and in technologies that could shape the country’s future economic development.

Aschbacher stressed that the Warsaw facility would have a special place in ESA’s institutional history. The agency currently employs around 6,500 people and operates centres across Europe, but the new Polish facility will be the first ESA centre located in a country that was not among the original signatories of the 1975 convention establishing the agency.

“Poland is the first of ESA’s newer member states in which such a centre will be created,” Aschbacher said during the conference at the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw.

New Engine of Economic Growth

Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domański said Poland was looking to the space industry as one of the potential drivers of its future growth.

“Poland is the fastest-growing economy in Europe, but this success cannot be taken for granted,” Domański said. “That is why we are looking for new engines of development, including the space sector.”

The Warsaw centre is expected to strengthen cooperation between ESA and Polish research institutions, universities, technology companies and start-ups. It could also improve Polish businesses’ access to European space programmes and encourage the development of expertise in satellite technologies, data processing, Earth observation, communications and security.

The project follows a letter of intent signed by Poland and ESA in late November 2025. The agreement was concluded during a meeting of the ESA Council at Ministerial Level in Bremen, Germany.

At the meeting, Poland committed a total of €731 million to ESA missions, including nearly €550 million for the agency’s optional programmes for the 2026–2028 period. Optional programmes allow participating countries to direct funding towards selected areas of particular economic, scientific or strategic importance.

Poland Expands Its Space Ambitions

Poland joined ESA in 2012 and has steadily expanded its participation in European space programmes. Polish companies and research teams are already involved in projects concerning satellites, scientific instruments, robotics and Earth-observation technologies.

The establishment of a permanent ESA centre in Warsaw is likely to accelerate that development by bringing European projects, specialists and institutional expertise closer to Poland’s domestic space industry.

The investment also reflects Europe’s broader effort to strengthen its technological independence as competition in space intensifies. The United States and China are investing heavily in launch systems, lunar exploration, satellite networks and military space technologies, while private companies are playing an increasingly important role in the sector.

Tusk said one of ESA’s major ambitions was the development of a European spacecraft and argued that Poland wanted to be actively involved in such strategic initiatives rather than remain only a recipient of technologies developed elsewhere.

Founded in 1975, the European Space Agency coordinates civilian space research and exploration programmes among its member states. It supports scientific missions, satellite development, Earth observation, telecommunications and the growth of a competitive European space industry.

The Warsaw centre will therefore be both a symbolic achievement for Poland and a practical opportunity to secure a stronger position in one of the world’s most innovative and strategically important industries.