Latest news with #PolishSpaceAgency
CNA
06-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Poland says Russia is trying to interfere in presidential election
WARSAW: Poland is facing an unprecedented attempt from Russia to interfere in its presidential election, the digital affairs minister said on Tuesday (May 6), as the campaign entered its final stages ahead of the first round of voting on May 18. Poland says its role as a hub for aid to Ukraine has made it a key target for Russian sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation efforts, and Warsaw has been on high alert for interference, especially after Romania cancelled a presidential election in December due to allegations of Russian meddling. Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that it interferes in foreign elections and criticised the decision to cancel the election in Romania. "During the current presidential elections in Poland, we are facing an unprecedented attempt to interfere in the electoral process from the Russian side," Krzysztof Gawkowski told a defence conference. "This is being done ... (by) spreading disinformation in combination with hybrid attacks on Polish critical infrastructure in order to paralyse the normal functioning of the state," he added. He said that attacks had targeted water and sewage companies, heat and power plants and state administration bodies. The level of Russian activity in terms of cyberattacks in Poland had more than doubled compared to last year, he said. "Today in Poland, during every minute of my speech, a dozen or so incidents targeting critical infrastructure were recorded," he said. The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Warsaw said in March that there had been a cyberattack on the Polish space agency. In 2024 Poland said the state news agency had likely been hit by a Russian cyberattack.
Voice of America
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
Cyberattack detected at Polish space agency, minister says
Polish cybersecurity services have detected unauthorized access to the Polish Space Agency's (POLSA) IT infrastructure, Minister for Digitalization Krzysztof Gawkowski said Sunday. "In connection with the incident, the systems under attack were secured ... Intensive operational activities are also underway to identify who is behind the cyberattack," Gawkowski wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Warsaw has repeatedly accused Moscow of attempting to destabilize Poland because of its role in supplying military aid to its neighbor Ukraine, allegations Russia has repeatedly dismissed. The agency confirmed to news agency PAP that a cybersecurity incident had occurred. The situation is being analyzed, and in order to secure data, the POLSA network was immediately disconnected from the Internet, it told PAP. Last month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Russia of planning acts of sabotage worldwide that included 'acts of air terror' against airlines. Tusk made the statement at a news conference in Warsaw on January 15. 'I will not go into details, I can only confirm the validity of fears that Russia was planning acts of air terror, not only against Poland, but against airlines around the world,' Tusk said. The Kremlin has dismissed previous Western claims that Russia sponsored acts of sabotage and attacks in Europe. Western security officials suspect Russian intelligence was behind a plot to put incendiary devices in packages on cargo planes headed to North America, including one that caught fire at a courier hub in Germany and another that ignited in a warehouse in England last year. Some information in this report is from The Associated Press.
Saba Yemen
20-02-2025
- Science
- Saba Yemen
SpaceX rocket debris lands over Poland
Warsaw - Saba: The Polish Space Agency (POLSA) announced that debris from the Falcon 9 rocket of the American Space Exploration Technologies Corporation "SpaceX", in the west of the country. The agency said, in a statement on Thursday, that it recorded the uncontrolled return of one of the layers of the Falcon 9 RP rocket to the atmosphere over Polish territory. It added that the rocket layer, weighing about 4 tons, is from the "Starlink Group 11-4" mission Which took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on February 1, and during the entry of debris into the atmosphere, light trails appeared in the sky. For its part, the Polish police confirmed that two unidentified objects fell near Poznan in the west of the country, a few kilometers apart, and the fall of the two objects did not result in any damage or injuries. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
How a chunk of a SpaceX rocket wound up behind a Polish warehouse
Adam Burucki had a very peculiar Wednesday morning. Upon arriving at his warehouse in the quaint Polish village of Komorniki, he discovered that a massive chunk of charred rocket debris had crash-landed on his property. Flabbergasted by the discovery, he called the police in the nearby city of Poznan, the BBC reported. The police, working alongside the Polish Space Agency, known as POLSA, then determined that the 3-by-5-foot object was from a Falcon 9 rocket manufactured by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, according to the news outlet. Police also said that a similar piece of debris was found near the village of Wiry, about 2½ miles from Komorniki. The rocket was launched Feb. 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County and carried 22 Starlink satellites into orbit, according to a statement from POLSA. The Falcon 9 rocket is designed to transport people and cargo into space and then safely reenter Earth's atmosphere. However, at 4:46 a.m. local time Wednesday, the second stage of the rocket made an uncontrolled reentry over Poland, POLSA said. During this time, fragments of the rocket burning up as fireballs could be seen in the skies over the country, according to the Polish Press Agency and videos shared on social media. The second stage is the upper portion of the rocket and is responsible for delivering items into orbit after the first stage has successfully propelled the rocket into Earth's upper atmosphere and detached itself. In a Falcon 9 rocket, the first stage separates from the second stage about 2 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff. The first stage is designed to be reusable, while the second stage is expendable and replaced after each mission. Harvard University astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell in his online Space Report identified the debris found on Burucki's property as a composite overwrapped pressure vessel from the second stage. This is a high-strength container used to store helium gas, which is critical for pressurizing the rocket's propellant tanks and ensuring proper fuel flow to its engines. UCLA astronomy professor Edward Wright told The Times it was likely that an engine or controls failure prevented the second stage from reentering Earth's atmosphere in a controlled manner and making a routine landing in the Pacific Ocean. Most of the rocket combusted in the intense heat created by the friction of hurtling through the atmosphere at 18,000 mph, he said. McDowell noted that this was the fourth recent problematic incident with the SpaceX Falcon. "So far, we've been lucky and no one has been hurt," he told the BBC, "but the more we put into the Earth's orbit, the more likely it is that our luck will run out." Read more: The chances of an asteroid hitting Earth in 2032 have changed. But what's the risk, really? In July, a Falcon 9 second stage experienced an oxygen leak, leading to engine problems and the premature release of 20 satellites. In August, the rocket's reusable first stage toppled into the ocean during a failed routine landing on a seafaring barge. Then during a NASA astronaut rescue mission in September, the Falcon 9's second stage experienced an abnormal deorbit burn, which caused it to land outside the intended area. The Falcon 9 holds the record for the highest number of launches and reuses in U.S. history. It has made 391 landings since its launch in 2010, according to SpaceX. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the debris found in Poland. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
20-02-2025
- Science
- Los Angeles Times
How a chunk of a SpaceX rocket wound up behind a Polish warehouse
Adam Burucki had a very peculiar Wednesday morning. Upon arriving at his warehouse in the quaint Polish village of Komorniki, he discovered that a massive chunk of charred rocket debris had crash-landed on his property. Flabbergasted by the discovery, he called the police in the nearby city of Poznan, the BBC reported. The police, working alongside the Polish Space Agency, known as POLSA, then determined that the 3-by-5-foot object was from a Falcon 9 rocket manufactured by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, according to the news outlet. Police also said that a similar piece of debris was found near the village of Wiry, about 2½ miles from Komorniki. The rocket was launched Feb. 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County and carried 22 Starlink satellites into orbit, according to a statement from POLSA. The Falcon 9 rocket is designed to transport people and cargo into space and then safely reenter Earth's atmosphere. However, at 4:46 a.m. local time Wednesday, the second stage of the rocket made an uncontrolled reentry over Poland, POLSA said. During this time, fragments of the rocket burning up as fireballs could be seen in the skies over the country, according to the Polish Press Agency and videos shared on social media. The second stage is the upper portion of the rocket and is responsible for delivering items into orbit after the first stage has successfully propelled the rocket into Earth's upper atmosphere and detached itself. In a Falcon 9 rocket, the first stage separates from the second stage about 2 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff. The first stage is designed to be reusable, while the second stage is expendable and replaced after each mission. Harvard University astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell in his online Space Report identified the debris found on Burucki's property as a composite overwrapped pressure vessel from the second stage. This is a high-strength container used to store helium gas, which is critical for pressurizing the rocket's propellant tanks and ensuring proper fuel flow to its engines. UCLA astronomy professor Edward Wright told The Times it was likely that an engine or controls failure prevented the second stage from reentering Earth's atmosphere in a controlled manner and making a routine landing in the Pacific Ocean. Most of the rocket combusted in the intense heat created by the friction of hurtling through the atmosphere at 18,000 mph, he said. McDowell noted that this was the fourth recent problematic incident with the SpaceX Falcon. 'So far, we've been lucky and no one has been hurt,' he told the BBC, 'but the more we put into the Earth's orbit, the more likely it is that our luck will run out.' In July, a Falcon 9 second stage experienced an oxygen leak, leading to engine problems and the premature release of 20 satellites. In August, the rocket's reusable first stage toppled into the ocean during a failed routine landing on a seafaring barge. Then during a NASA astronaut rescue mission in September, the Falcon 9's second stage experienced an abnormal deorbit burn, which caused it to land outside the intended area. The Falcon 9 holds the record for the highest number of launches and reuses in U.S. history. It has made 391 landings since its launch in 2010, according to SpaceX. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the debris found in Poland.
