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Poland to send astronaut into space, develop new tech under deals with ESA: gov't

30.08.2023 00:05
Poland has signed a slew of agreements with the European Space Agency (ESA) under which a Polish astronaut will fly into space next year and Polish space technology companies will be provided with new opportunities for growth, officials have said.
Polands Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda attends a news conference in Warsaw on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.
Poland's Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda attends a news conference in Warsaw on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell

One of these deals will also enable Polish university graduates to take internships at the ESA, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

The agreements come after Poland increased its financial contribution to the ESA by EUR 295 million earlier this year, the government said.

Poland's Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda told reporters on Tuesday that working with the ESA guaranteed "faster development of Polish companies in the space industry."

Speaking at a joint news conference with Josef Aschbacher, head of the European Space Agency, Buda said: "We have 400 companies active in the space sector. We want them to gain momentum through these agreements and cooperation with the ESA, to reach a higher level and contribute to the development of modern technology."

Poland's Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda (right) and Josef Aschbacher  (left), head of the European Space Agency, attend a news conference in Warsaw on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Poland's Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda (right) and Josef Aschbacher (left), head of the European Space Agency, attend a news conference in Warsaw on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell

Buda said earlier this month that a Polish astronaut would take part in an ESA mission to the International Space Station to "test Poland’s high tech" and conduct scientific experiments.

On August 4, Buda signed an agreement on behalf of the Polish government with the ESA and American space company Axiom Space on a mission to the International Space Station, according to reports at the time.

Buda said in late June that scientist Sławosz Uznański would fly into space on a European space mission, becoming Poland's second astronaut after the late Mirosław Hermaszewski, who took part in an eight-day Soviet space mission in 1978.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP