KONGSBERG Expands Poland’s Satellite Monitoring Capabilities with Advanced Ground Station Deal

Image credits: KONGSBERG

Norwegian defense and space technology leader KONGSBERG has secured a new contract with Poland’s Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW-PIB) to deliver an advanced satellite ground station system designed to strengthen the country’s weather forecasting, environmental monitoring, and climate analysis capabilities.

The turnkey system will provide IMGW with a fully integrated platform for receiving, processing, and distributing remote sensing satellite data. Scheduled for installation in Kraków in autumn 2026, the project includes everything from high-performance antenna infrastructure to sophisticated data processing and exploitation tools, backed by a one-year warranty covering both equipment and services.

The new ground station is engineered as a flexible, multi-mission platform capable of supporting a broad portfolio of Earth observation and meteorological satellites. This includes Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel missions alongside major weather-monitoring programs such as SNPP, JPSS, METOP, and EPS-SG.

At the core of the system is KONGSBERG’s MEOS™ technology portfolio, which combines advanced antenna systems, scalable software, and high-performance signal processing to enable efficient acquisition, archiving, analysis, and distribution of satellite data. The platform also features automated processing of Sentinel-1 imagery into ESA-compatible products, interactive tools for data exploitation, and integrated monitoring and reporting functions that support both local and remote operations.

According to Dr. Artur Rutkowski, Head of the Satellite Remote Sensing Department at IMGW-PIB, the organization views the expanded capability as a major enhancement to its national meteorological and hydrological services.

“IMGW-PIB is very satisfied with the cooperation with KONGSBERG so far. The implementation of an additional satellite data reception system will significantly strengthen our operational capabilities and enable us to perform our national meteorological and hydrological services even more effectively,” Rutkowski said. “Maintaining a world-class level of expertise and infrastructure is a key priority for IMGW-PIB, therefore from the very beginning we have focused on selecting state-of-the-art and proven technological solutions available on the market.”

KONGSBERG emphasized that the agreement reflects both the growing demand for resilient sovereign ground infrastructure and the long-standing partnership between the two organizations.

“We are proud to continue our collaboration with IMGW and to support their mission with advanced ground segment capabilities,” said Per-Erik Kristoffersen, Senior Vice President, Space and Surveillance at KONGSBERG. “This contract reflects both the trust in our technology and our commitment to delivering reliable, high-performance systems that enable our customers to fully utilize critical satellite data.”

The latest contract builds upon a previous MEOS™ system delivered by KONGSBERG in Poland in 2020. That system has operated successfully under a five-year service and support agreement, reinforcing confidence in the company’s long-term operational reliability and support model.

KONGSBERG has spent decades developing space ground systems for customers worldwide and continues to expand its role across the satellite value chain. Through ongoing investment in its MEOS™ product line, the company has positioned itself as a key provider of scalable and mission-ready ground segment technologies tailored to evolving operational and sovereignty requirements.

For Poland, the enhanced satellite reception and processing infrastructure is expected to improve access to critical Earth observation data, supporting faster and more accurate weather forecasting, environmental intelligence, hydrological monitoring, and long-term climate research.