On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, Deputy Minister of National Defence Cezary Tomczyk said on social media that the first PIRX-1 satellite had been launched into space under the MikroGlob Earth Observation Satellite System. The launch had previously been planned for late August or early September this year, although the Ministry of National Defence had originally announced that it would take place in 2025.
PIRX – 1 poleciał w kosmos 🚀
I nie chodzi o Komandora Pirxa z powieści Stanisława Lema, ale o pierwszego optoelektronicznego satelitę programu MIKROGLOB, nazwanego na jego cześć i wyniesionego dziś w ramach misji SpaceX Transporter-17.
Satelitę zbudowała 🇵🇱 firma Creotech… pic.twitter.com/rK5OPl87Ps
— Cezary Tomczyk (@CTomczyk) July 7, 2026
According to the deputy defense minister, the satellite was launched by SpaceX as part of the Transporter-17 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission carried a total of 81 satellites, including four new SAR satellites from Polish-Finnish company ICEYE.
It should be recalled that on December 20, 2024, the State Treasury, represented by the Armament Agency on behalf of the Ministry of National Defence, signed a contract worth PLN 556.7 million gross with Creotech Instruments for the delivery of an Earth Observation Satellite System under the MikroGlob program. The system consists of four microsatellites with optical sensors enabling imaging in visible light (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR), followed by transmission of Earth imagery data to the ground segment. They are based on the HyperSat platform developed by Creotech Instruments. The program is being implemented using funds from the National Recovery Plan (KPO). The system operator will be the Geospatial Intelligence and Satellite Services Agency (ARGUS), while the user will be the Polish Armed Forces.
MikroGlob will expand the capabilities of the Polish Armed Forces in acquiring intelligence data using satellite-based optoelectronic Earth observation systems. The satellite constellation will be tasked and managed in line with the current imagery requirements of the Polish Armed Forces and the Government of the Republic of Poland.
The launch of all four satellites and their placement into low Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) is planned by 2027. The parameters of this orbit allow the constellation to pass over the observed area of the planet’s surface under the same lighting conditions, at a fixed local time, while also ensuring a short revisit interval.
Image: Creotech Instruments
The ground component will consist of two additional segments: Mission Control and Image Data Processing. The task of the former will be two-way communication with the satellites, including receiving incoming telemetry and imagery data through ground stations. These data will then be processed by the dedicated Image Data Processing Segment. The detailed system specification is classified.
The Polish Armed Forces’ current satellite capabilities consist of four of the six planned POLSARIS, or Polish SAR Intelligence System, radar satellites under the MikroSAR program from the aforementioned ICEYE, as well as three PIAST constellation nanosatellites under the SZAFIR program, launched last year together with POLSARIS-1.
In the first quarter of 2027, two large Airbus S950 VHR observation satellites are to be launched under the POLEOS program. On April 20 this year, European companies Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space announced cooperation with Radmor, part of WB Group, to develop a geostationary telecommunications satellite for the Ministry of National Defence.
Falcon 9 launches the 17th Transporter rideshare mission and delivers 81 payloads to orbit pic.twitter.com/ApixoSmFHv
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 7, 2026
Falcon 9 landing confirmed pic.twitter.com/T0Pq1J8uYz
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 7, 2026
Liftoff of Transporter-17! pic.twitter.com/sUZ9BuP9Eb
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 7, 2026
Less than one hour until Falcon 9’s launch of the Transporter-17 mission. Liftoff is targeted for 12:12 a.m. PT. The live webcast will begin about 15 minutes ahead of launch → https://t.co/EZqlC8BAcs pic.twitter.com/py5ApyicCF
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 7, 2026
Our 17th Transporter rideshare mission is targeted to launch tomorrow from California and will deliver 81 payloads to orbit → https://t.co/ypN5Y5SUSp pic.twitter.com/vrQ6ZlLehD
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 6, 2026
🚀 To historyczny moment dla polskiego sektora kosmicznego! 🇵🇱🛰️
💪🇵🇱 Nawiązano dwukierunkową komunikację z platformą satelitarną Mikroglob w paśmie S-band z prędkością transmisji 1Mbps, potwierdzając możliwość up-grade oprogramowania sterującego satelitą.
📅 We wtorek, 7 lipca,… pic.twitter.com/z0OrKJa5yg— Agencja Uzbrojenia (@AgencjaUzbr) July 9, 2026