Speaking at the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw, Aschbacher said the choice made Poland the first ESA member state to host such a centre outside the countries that signed the agency's founding 1975 convention.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk called it "a landmark day" for both Warsaw and Poland.
"It is the first EU member on the bloc's eastern flank to host such a facility," he noted.
According to Tusk, the centre will focus on dual-use research, security and crisis management, and will support ESA's goal of developing a Polish spacecraft capable of transporting cargo between Earth and satellites, as well as servicing and refuelling them.
Finance Minister Andrzej Domański said the government would double spending on the domestic space industry and deepen cooperation with ESA.
"We know that every euro invested in the sector yields six to seven times the return," he argued.
Domański also announced plans for an instrument worth around PLN 500 million (EUR 115 million), backed by companies in the Polish Development Fund group – particularly Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego – to invest in space-sector firms, alongside a dedicated financing scheme to help local authorities build related infrastructure.
According to the finance minister, Poland needed "to keep building new engines of economic growth and competitive advantages."
"I have no doubt the space sector would become one of the country's key growth drivers in the coming decades," Domański added.
Aschbacher praised Poland's rapid progress in the sector, pointing to the country's growing role in space and defence industries, which he described as closely intertwined.
He also referenced Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, who travelled to space last year, calling him "a source of inspiration for many Poles."
A letter of intent on establishing the centre was signed with Domański in November 2025 at ESA's Ministerial Council in Bremen, Germany, paving the way for the task force that shaped Monday's announcement.
ESA currently employs around 6,500 people across sites throughout Europe.
Poland has been a member since 2012.
(ał)
Source: PAP