Polish Space Agency Preparing for
Takeoff
The following is a summary of an article by Kamil Nadolski, featured in Wprost
weekly.
Thanks to establishment of the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), domestic firms are to
start making real money in the aerospace sector. So far, they have had to fight for
recognition and contracts in this area on their own.
Space, here we come
On 6 August 2012, the Curiosity rover landed on Mars. One vital part of its equipment
were MCT infrared detectors. Not many people know that they were made by VIG0
System SA, a Polish company from Ozarow Mazowiecki. On top of that, NASA
vehicles use software created by a Polish mathematician and Polish students are
among the top builders of Mars rovers in the world; finally, a Polish satellite is
orbiting the Earth and is soon to be joined by another one.
Soon, such initiatives, which are presently carried out independently, will come under
supervision of the POLSA. Establishing such an institution in Poland has been
discussed for years, with the respective bill finally passed on 25 July 2014. Once the
POLSA takes off, Polish firms will find it easier to obtain funds from the European
Space Agency (ESA). The POLSA is also supposed to create suitable conditions for
co-operation between business circles and the world of science. This is certainly a step
in the right direction, as the example of other countries shows that there is a fourfold
return on every euro invested in the space industry.
An umbrella for research
The aim is mainly to devise a consistent national space policy. Today, there are many
independent organisations and companies in Poland dealing in both research and
production of components for the space industry. The POLSA is supposed to be a sort
of an umbrella for research related to exploration of space," says Janusz Bogusz, coordinator of the National Centre of Space and Satellite Engineering.
According to experts, Poland could specialise in building small satellites, as well as
exploration missions and Earth observation instruments. A group of scientists from the
Warsaw Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion (IFPiLM) is currently
working on a special engine for space probes and satellites which is supposed to be
more economic in use than the existing solutions. Polish engineers are also devising
parts to be used in unmanned flights to Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.
fb
10-08-2014; Wprost weekly; p.80
PNB Economic Review 2014, August, 05