Electronics Weekly
The work is for Project Camila, which stands for “Country awareness Mission in Land Analysis”.
Under the contract, Creotech will provide a national constellation of at least three Earth observation satellites along with dedicated ground infrastructure. The contract also includes satellite launch services and the conduct of full-scale missions.
Creotech Instruments
The company described it as a significant milestone for Poland’s growing space sector. It also highlighted the project’s role for Europe’s strategic autonomy in satellite technology.
“CAMILA is a project of strategic importance, both for Creotech Instruments and the entire European space sector,” said the company CEO, Grzegorz Brona. “It attests to our technological maturity and ability to deliver advanced satellite missions.”
“It also demonstrates the deep trust in our business model and the Polish-built HyperSat platform we have been developing over the past years. We are honored to take on this responsibility and sincerely thank ESA for their confidence.”
Of €52 million value of the project, €26 million will be allocated to Creotech Instruments itself, the project lead. The balance will go to subcontractors Creotech Instruments will to engage for the project. Among them are several leading companies from the Polish space sector: CloudFerro (ground segment services), Eycore (space radar), GMV Innovating Solutions (integrated Flight Operations System, KP Labs (Data Processing Unit) and Scanway S.A. (EO telescopes).
“Ten years ago, Creotech Instruments developed an ambitious strategy to become Europe’s next major space mission integrator and prime contractor,” Brona added.
“In December 2024, we signed our first major contract to deliver a complete satellite system for the Polish Armed Forces under the MIKROGLOB program. Today’s agreement is another milestone of similar scale, fulfilling the vision we set a decade ago.”
The project will run from April 2025 to December 2027.
Camila
The purpose of Project Camila, says the ESA, is to strengthen the national capacity of Poland. Specifically, for both designing and developing an end-to-end Earth Observation system.
The project comprises a space segment, which is the constellation of small earth observation satellites (both optical and SAR). This is with the aim of providing EO data with a high resolution and revisit frequency over Poland. There’s also a Ground Segment. This consists of a Flight Operation System (FOS) and a Payload Data ground System (PDGS).
Note the ESA has operated a “geo-return” policy, which aims for ESA members to receive economic benefits. This is via contracts with companies in the respective states. And they are broadly proportional to their financial contributions to the ESA.
According to the ESA’s Director General, Josef Aschbacher, however, the agency is aiming to review its geo-return policy in 2025.
Image: Creotech Instruments
See also: UKSA boasts record European Space Agency contract wins
