12.12.2016 change 12.12.2016

Polish contribution to the ESA increased by 9 million euros

Polish contribution paid to the European Space Agency for the so-called optional programs increased by 9 million euros. The total sum of contributions declared by Poland for optional programs for the period 2017-2020 is 45 million euros - the Ministry of Development informed PAP.

"45 million euros is the total amount of declared contributions for optional programs for the period 2017-2020. In the previous term it was 36 million euros, so our contribution has increased by 9 million euros" - the Ministry of Development informed PAP.

The money paid by the individual countries as contributions to the ESA are allocated to mandatory and optional programs. Mandatory programs include, among other things, space research and the construction of associated equipment. Optional programs are related to, among other things, Earth observation, telecommunications, satellite navigation, observation of the sky and objects in the sky, and space transport.

In the majority of the previously optional ESA programs the utilization rate of Polish contribution is nearly 100 percent. "Despite the high level of utilization, many companies continue to report the willingness to perform contracts in these programs. However, this is impossible because of the lack of a sufficiently high allocation of Polish funds in the program. Using all Polish funds in the program means the exclusion of Polish entities from the tender process. In view of the possibility of the development of Polish space sector, we have decided to increase the Polish contribution to optional programs for the next period" - the Ministry of Development justified their decision.

According to the Ministry of Development, increased contribution and continued investments in selected optional programs will strengthen the position of Polish companies in the European supply chain in key ESA programs. Optional programs also enable the development of technology to the level of technological readiness (TRL), which allows to use it in ESA space missions and other commercial ventures.

The decision to increase the contribution was made during the Ministerial Council of the States of the European Space Agency, which was held in Lucerne, Switzerland. "With the additional funds earmarked for this purpose by the Ministry of Development and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Polish total contribution to optional programs declared at the Ministerial Council in Lucerne has been increased by 25 percent" - reported Deputy Minister of Development Jadwiga Emilewicz.

"It\'s good that the Polish contribution to the ESA has been slightly increased - it is a signal that the government is interested in a stable investment in the space sector, and that is important and good news for the entire industry. Polish space industry has made good use of the membership in ESA and dynamically developed using most of the funds flowing to us. But in order to maintain the current growth rate, it seems necessary to launch a national space program and strengthen cooperation with foreign companies in search of contracts" - said CEO of SENER Polska, Aleksandra Bukała.

The European Space Agency currently has 22 member stated. Poland is a full member since November 2012. Since Polish accession to the ESA, research centres, institutes and companies operating in our country participated in over a hundred space projects for ESA. Polish scientific institutions and companies are capable of producing equipment used to study Mars, for example Cassis camera power supply on board the orbiter of the ExoMars2016 mission - designed by the Space Research Centre PAS and made by Creotech Instruments SA, or infrared detector VIGO, installed aboard the rover Curiosity.

"The European Space Agency has a huge capital of knowledge built through decades, and experience of thousands of outstanding scientists and engineers, which is invaluable for companies like ours. With the Polish contributions to the ESA, domestic companies and institutions were granted the right to participate in the Agency\'s space endeavours" - explained Dr. Grzegorz Brona, CEO Creotech Instruments SA. "Participation in prestigious ESA projects such as the mission ExoMars2016 (...), or ASIM experiment on the International Space Station has allowed our company to gain unique experience and competences, and build the most advanced industrial infrastructure in Poland for the needs of space projects. Without access to ESA contracts, achieving such success in four years would have been impossible" - concluded Dr. Grzegorz Brona.

During this year\'s Ministerial Council, the ESA proposed its Member States the budget for several years for the optional programs amounting to over 11 billion euros, of which more than one billion would be spent on development work in the field of telecommunications, with the support of the private sector. Further 1.5 billion would go to the satellite Earth observation mission program. About 800 million euros would be allocated for the European work on the International Space Station (ISS). Decisions were also made on tracking space objects and junk, the European participation in the ISS program after 2020 and the continued financing of the ExoMars mission.

Ewelina Krajczyńska (PAP)

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