"Space technology is a machine for turning millions into billions"

• More than 500 Polish companies are already registered in the European Space Agency database. More than 150 of them have won contracts - some worth millions of euros.
• - Space technologies are a machine for turning millions into billions - says Prof. Grzegorz Wrochna in an interview with WNP.
• As the former president of the Polish Space Agency reminds, the act on the Polish Space Agency provides for the possibility of supporting companies by POLSA. We are waiting for the implementing regulation to this act.
• Poland has also been waiting for a national space program since 2017. - Various attempts have been made to formulate it, but to no avail - our interlocutor points out.

Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski's flight into orbit is more than just a success for Poland's image . It is a concrete opportunity for development for Polish companies and scientists .

Experiments prepared as part of the European Space Agency mission show that Poland has the ambitions and competences to play a serious role in the space sector. Now bold decisions are needed - says Prof. Grzegorz Wrochna, former president of the Polish Space Agency, in an interview with WNP.

- The announcement of the recruitment for experiments alone resulted in the European Space Agency and Poland receiving 66 applications within a month. We did not expect that our companies and scientists are already so well prepared to conduct research in space - he adds.

- Some projects, such as processors, are very advanced and close to implementation, others - such as controlling a computer with thoughts - are only at the beginning of the road. But all of them have potential in terrestrial applications as well - Wrochna emphasizes.

More than 500 Polish companies are already registered in the ESA database. More than 150 of them have won contracts - some worth millions of euros . This shows that the Polish space sector not only aspires, but actually competes.

From Grants to Public Procurement - What Do Businesses Need?

Financial issues may be an obstacle to further development. According to Wrochna, there are financial or grant instruments for companies that want to carry out experiments for space missions in the future. However, as he emphasizes, Polish companies need not only research grants, but above all real orders .

- Our companies no longer want to live only on grants. They need orders - emphasizes prof. Wrochna and explains that the European Space Agency offers a solution to this problem. Thanks to it, it is possible to finance projects from public funds, but in the form of tenders requiring commercial quality.

- ESA combines public money with a commercial order. The company must win the tender and deliver a working device - explains Wrochna.

What other instruments did he think were needed?

- The act on the Polish Space Agency provides for the possibility of supporting the company by POLSA. We are waiting for the implementing regulation to this act. It is already in the legislative procedure. Let's hope that it will be adopted soon and that the Polish Space Agency will receive appropriate funds to be able to effectively support the Polish space sector - says Wrochna.

As he recalls, Poland has also been waiting for a national space program since 2017. Various attempts have been made to formulate it, but to no avail.

A contribution that paid off. Poland is no longer at the bottom of the ESA list

The autumn will bring important decisions regarding the amount of the contribution that Poland pays to ESA. According to Wrochna, this decision will also directly affect the national space program and Poland's role in future missions. According to Wrochna, if we invest boldly, we have a serious chance to develop the space sector. If not, others will overtake us.

- Reducing the contribution would mean regression. We need to maintain it, or better yet increase it - appeals Grzegorz Wrochna and adds: - Investments in space are investments in security and development.

As the former head of POLSA emphasizes, space technologies today are not just a scientific curiosity. They are the foundation of a modern state, both in terms of economy and security.

- Ukraine is an example of the fact that superiority is no longer determined only by firepower or the number of tanks, but above all by the precision of information - reminds Grzegorz Wrochna.

As he explains, it is space technologies, especially satellite technologies, that provide this key knowledge today.

- If we look at our national income, which is around 750 billion euros, the cost of an astronaut mission is less than 0.1 per mille of that amount. The entire budget that we currently allocate to the space sector - around 200 million euros per year - is just under 0.3 per mille - our interlocutor calculates.

As Wrochna adds, if Poland wants to treat the issues of security and modern technologies seriously, investments in the space sector should be correspondingly larger .

- Since NATO countries declare 5% of GDP for security, then seeing how space technologies play a key role in the war in Ukraine, we should allocate at least 0.5% of this amount, and preferably 1% for these technologies - emphasizes the former president of the Polish Space Agency.

Is there a chance that another Pole will fly into space?

Sending Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski into orbit may not be the last such event involving our compatriot, if it is used well, but whether and when another Pole will have the chance to fly into space, according to Grzegorz Wrochna, is difficult to predict.

- We already have an excellent astronaut and I think that this potential cannot be wasted, that he should continue his work in the European Space Agency. Currently, he is employed only as a so-called project astronaut, i.e. with one specific mission in mind. However, our goal is for him to be employed permanently - so that he can participate in activities until the end of the International Space Station's operation, planned for 2030. We hope that he will have the chance to fly to the ISS again, and later participate in missions to new space stations built by the private sector, or to the Gateway station, which will orbit the Moon - he emphasizes.