Thanks to the membership of Poland in the European Space Agency and EU programs, native enterprises have a full access to the European air and cosmic market as well as bigger chances for gaining means in order to finance all works in that area.
In the case of EU projects, companies may benefit from the Horizon 2020 program which is the main element of the European Space Policy. In the years 2014-2020, the budget intended for the cosmic space will amount to 1.4 billion euro. The main thematic areas, within which it is possible to gain support, are satellite navigation (Galileo program), satellite observations (Copernicus) and security against threats from or in the cosmic space. We achieved a very great success in Horizon 2020 in the case of competitions concerning satellite navigation, that is Galileo or in the area of cosmic waste. Two Polish companies obtained a grant for cleaning the Earth orbit through a net – says Piotr Świerczyński, expert of cosmic technologies in the National Contact Point for Research Programs of EU.
According to Piotr Świerczyński, projects of the Horizon 2020 program are realized within international consortiums. The National Contact Point for Research Programs of EU participates in preparation of an application at each stage – starting with creating a project, through establishing a budget and ending with finding partners. It also grants support during realization and settlement of the project with the European Commission.
The entering of Poland the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2012 allowed the native enterprises to join the European air and cosmic market. All opportunities provided by the programs realized by ESA encourage companies to implement innovations. The annual budget of the Agency amounts to 4 billion euro.
As Piotr Świerczyński convinces, the interest of native companies in developing cosmic technologies is becoming bigger and bigger. In result, our potential is increasing and we may gain more means for technologies from framework programs, mainly from Horizon 2020 – adds Świerczyński.