Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences was established in 1976. SRC is a unique institute in Poland with its activity fully concentrated on space experiments. It conducts pure and applied research in the field of solar system physics, heliophysics, planetology, geodynamics, planetary geodesy, remote sensing and space technology. SRC is authorized to confer the degrees of PhD and doctor habilitatus in physics; runs PhD program specialized in geophysics. Most of SRC’s activity is carried out in a broad international cooperation in the frame of space missions of the European Space Agency, such as Casini-Huygens, Integral, Mars-Express, Venus-Express, Rosetta, Herschel, Bepi-Colombo. In parallel, bilateral agreements enabled our involvement in French space projects Demeter and Taranis, the Russian project Koronas-Photon, and NASA smallsatellite mission IBEX. SRC has recently dedicated a substantial part of its R+D activity to European space application programs, in such GMES projects like, e.g., Geoland-2, Pearl, G-Mosaic or Galileo project Precise Timing Facility realized by Astrogeodynamical Observatory. SRC specialists support the Regional Warning Center of ISES, a national level service of space weather nowcasting and forecasting. Solar activity in X-rays is studied experimentally using data of space spectrometers built in Solar Physics Division. The Space Research Centre PAS co-operates with universities in student training and makes its labs available for their lab practice and graduation work. The institute staff is active in science promotions and familiarises the general public with current events in the Solar System and space exploration, as well as with practical applications.