Creotech Instruments has reached another milestone in the PIAST (Polish ImAging SaTelites) project and has successfully completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR), the second of four major reviews in the satellite design and construction process. This means that the company has concluded initial R&D work and is now moving to satellite manufacturing and testing. PIAST aims to deliver the first Poland-made instruments of the national Earth observation satellite system to serve the Polish Armed Forces. The company plans to build and deploy a constellation of three satellites based on the proprietary HyperSat platform in Earth orbit by 2025. The project is run by a consortium led by the Military University of Technology.

The successful PDR marks another important step following last year’s System Requirements Review (SRR), enabling the project to transition to the next stage and substantially reducing its technological risk. This will be followed by the CDR (Critical Design Review) and FAR (Flight Acceptance Review) phases. All reviews are conducted with the participation of independent external experts.

“I am very pleased that we managed to hit another milestone in the PIAST project concerning the construction and orbital launch of a constellation of three observation satellites for the Polish Armed Forces. The successful PDR review confirmed that our project is technically and organizationally sound and meets the design requirements. Now, according to the schedule, we can move to the next stage of PIAST implementation and commence the production of advanced prototypes and qualification tests,” said Grzegorz Brona, PhD, President of the Management Board of Creotech Instruments S.A.

The PIAST project aims to leverage the potential offered by partnerships between research institutions and private companies in developing solutions crucial for national security and defense. The entire undertaking is led by the Military University of Technology in partnership with Creotech Instruments S.A., the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Scanway Sp. z o.o., the Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Aviation and PCO S.A. (a company of the Polish Armaments Group). The end customer of PIAST’s deliverables is the Ministry of National Defense. The project is part-financed by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) as part of the SZAFIR program.

The PIAST constellation will consist of three optoelectronic reconnaissance nanosatellites that will conduct a series of tests crucial for the further development of the proprietary modular HyperSat satellite platform. These tests will include formation flying, space-to-Earth and space-to-space laser communication, imaging the same point on Earth by multiple satellites simultaneously, and tests of a new encryption protocol.

“The PIAST project will allow us to test satellite production and assembly procedures in the coming years, which is crucial in terms of the anticipated future orders for satellite platforms and the implementation of our development strategy. The successful completion of the PDR phase is also an important step for the company and the gradual transition from individual satellite production to serial runs for the purposes of satellite constellations,” adds Grzegorz Brona.

Creotech Instruments is Poland’s only company to achieve the capability to build microsatellites, i.e. satellites weighing between 10 kg and 150 kg. Another milestone in the company’s growth is the EagleEye Project involving the development of an Earth Observation satellite. It is slated for launch to low Earth orbit in late 2023/early 2024. The company is also involved in a pioneering project to build the first large quantum computer for the European Union as part of an international consortium. The companies were selected on behalf of the European Commission, with Creotech Instruments being the only representative for Central and Eastern Europe.

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