Poland Prepares First Military Satellite for Service

Poland opened an exhibition on November 13 in Warsaw to outline the country’s upcoming space-based surveillance capability, ahead of the planned entry into service of the Polish Armed Forces’ first military satellite.

The event, titled Vigilance from Orbit, was launched at the Polish Army Museum with the participation of Cezary Tomczyk, Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defense.

Speaking at the opening, Tomczyk said the new system will give the military satellite and radar imaging functions it has not previously possessed. “Today, we are building an extremely important capability for the Polish Army – a capability the Polish Army has not had before. The ability to conduct satellite and radar imaging, and consequently, develop targeting capabilities for the Polish Army,” he said. He added that Poland is joining countries that operate similar space-based systems and described 2025 as “the year of space” for the country, noting that the satellite will be the first Polish military spacecraft placed in orbit.

The project was developed through cooperation between ICEYE, the Polish Space Agency, and the Polish Armaments Group, under the patronage of the Ministry of National Defence.

The launch of Poland’s first military satellites, originally planned to coincide with Independence Day on November 11, has been delayed to later this month. Poland’s ICEYE and PIAST satellites—designed for both military and civilian use—were scheduled to fly on a U.S. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of efforts to strengthen national surveillance and intelligence capabilities.

Polish state news agency PAP reported that the launch has been moved to November 22, citing a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Polish Army.

One of the satellites on the mission was developed by ICEYE, a Polish-Finnish radar technology company. The spacecraft carries sensors capable of capturing images of Earth’s surface in any weather, at any time of day. Poland’s defense ministry signed a €202 million contract in May for three ICEYE satellites, with an option for three more, while state-owned development bank BGK invested nearly €10 million in the firm in August.

Alongside the ICEYE satellite, the Falcon 9 mission will also deploy three smaller Polish PIAST observation satellites into orbit.