Poland wants own NASA

A Polish rocket in space? A group of Polish deputies wants to create a National Space Agency that would build a rocket and the first Polish satellite.

The Ministry of Economy has already begun to prepare a space policy, and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education is working with experts in this field. A group of experts in parliament is preparing space program legislation. This Polish interest is part of a worldwide trend of space conquest. Recently British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who hailed 2008 the “Year of the Spaceship,” unveiled designs for two craft which could take tourists into space. Branson believes private space travel could help answer key questions about the Earth’s climate and the mysteries of the universe.

How would Polish politicians conquer space?
“We need our own satellite for navigation and communication reasons,” Boguslaw Wontor of the LiD (Left and Democrats) party, the chief of the space group, told the Metro daily newspaper. “Now we use a foreign satellite, and we pay really big money for it. Our space investments would pay us back very quickly.”
Launching Poland’s National Space Agency might bring the country closer to the European Space Agency, enabling Poland to get grants for the development of space technology. Professor Piotr Wolanski, chief of the Board of Space and Satellite Research at the Polish Science Academy, says Poland is prepared to develop the technology.

“Polish scientists have constructed 60 devices which are used in international space missions. It is time we get finally some profits from our work,” Wolanski told Metro.
Another scientist, Zbigniew Klos, who is a member of the European Space Commission, is of the same opinion. He is convinced that a Polish space program could bring significant profits to the country. The space technologies could lead to modern fabrics and production plants. And they would bring new workplaces.

When could a program show results? We don’t know yet. All that is known for certain is that the program would require a lot of time and money. Even an initial Polish budget should have at least several million euro.