V4Kosmos

English
Čeština Maďarština Polština Slovenština

V4Kosmos

Polish Spaceflight

Mirosław Hermazewski as a First Polish Astronaut

In 1978, Polish fighter pilot General Mirosław Hermaszewski became the 89th person in space aboard Soyuz 30. He spent eight days on the Salyut 6 space station, conducting scientific experiments as part of the Interkosmos program. His mission marked a major milestone for Poland in space exploration.

During his mission, Hermaszewski contributed to 11 experiments, including:

  • Observing Earth’s surface and the aurora borealis.
  • Producing semiconductor crystals in the Splav furnace for infrared detection.
  • Measuring lung capacity and heart rate using Polish devices.
  • Testing taste changes with the elektrogustometr.
  • Studying sleep, food, and crew interactions to improve time management in space.

He also continued Czechoslovak-Soviet experiments on chlorella, oxygen production, and heat output changes in microgravity.

Joining the European Space Agency

Poland joined ESA in 2012. In 2022, ESA selected 17 individuals from 22,500 applicants for its fourth astronaut class. Five became astronaut candidates, and 12 were placed in the reserve pool, including Sławosz Uznański from Poland. Reserve astronauts may be chosen for specific projects with potential to become full astronauts.

Autumn 2022

ESA selected 17 individuals from 22,500 applicants for its fourth astronaut class. Five became full-time candidates, while 12, including Polish scientist Sławosz Uznański, were placed in the reserve pool for potential future missions.

Summer 2023

After the selection, **Axiom Space** offered Poland the chance to send a reserve astronaut into orbit. Poland accepted, with **Sławosz Uznański** likely to participate. The agreement also allows Polish teams to prepare experiments for the ISS mission, scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.

Spring 2024

Axiom Space announced the crew for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4): Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański (ESA/Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary). Uznański is undergoing training at Axiom, NASA, and SpaceX facilities for the mission.

July 2024

Negotiations are set to commence regarding potential astronaut training under the European Space Agency.

July 2025

Poland returned to space after almost 50 years. A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25, 2025, at 2:31 AM local time. In space, the crew members, including Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu and Shubhanshu Shukla from India, spent a total of 20 days, 18 of which were directly aboard the ISS.

The original launch date was June 11, but due to various technical issues the crew lifted off 14 days later, making it the mission with the longest pre-flight quarantine in the history of spaceflight. The crew spent 4 weeks in isolation; only the Apollo astronauts experienced something similar, though their quarantine lasted 3 weeks. Normally, the standard is just 2 weeks.

Splashdown took place on July 15, 2025, near the California coast.

Bio of Sławosz Uznański

Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (*1984) studied at universities in Nantes and Marseille, where he obtained a PhD for his work on radiation-hardened structures. In 2011, he joined CERN in Switzerland, working on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project, while also contributing to testing systems for ESA. In 2022, he passed ESA’s demanding astronaut selection, in which 17 astronauts were chosen. This was the same process in which Czech ESA reserve astronaut Aleš Svoboda was selected.

V4 Significance

Sławosz Uznański, with the Ax-4 mission, followed in the footsteps of his predecessor and became only the second Pole in space, and the first Pole aboard the ISS. The trend of private or semi-private space missions, made more affordable by reusable launch vehicles, makes missions like Ax-4 possible, including with two astronauts from the Visegrád Four. Tibor Kapu brought Hungary back to space after 45 years; more information about his flight can be found on the Hungarian spaceflight page. In the coming years, Czech astronaut Aleš Svoboda may also fly to the ISS within a similar mission.