Four Greek thermal satellites were successfully launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and are now in orbit around the Earth as part of the “National Microsatellite Program”, marking an important step in strengthening the country’s civil protection and climate resilience.
The system, developed by OroraTech, is the first national satellite system designed for fire detection and monitoring. With its deployment, Greece is for the first time acquiring an integrated fire monitoring system, substantially enhancing the prevention, preparedness and immediate response of the competent authorities. The data will be integrated into the Governmental Earth Observation Node, creating a unified operational information environment for the Public Administration.
The four specialized thermal satellites are designed to detect and monitor fires in near real-time. Through advanced thermal sensors, they will provide continuous insight into the evolution of fires, the ability to detect outbreaks early and provide accurate mapping of their impact.
In parallel, the new satellites will provide highly accurate information on the temperature of the country’s marine waters, coastal areas and inland water bodies (lakes and reservoirs), as well as on a variety of land use categories – from agricultural and forest land to urban areas and wetlands. In this way, they make a key contribution to the systematic monitoring of critical environmental and climate parameters, enhancing the country’s capacity for informed decision-making in areas such as the protection of the marine and coastal environment, water resources management, agricultural production and adaptation to climate change.
As part of the same mission, two experimental microsatellites for Earth observation and advanced connectivity techniques were also put into orbit, which will be used to provide near real-time data for applications such as ship detection, coastal flood monitoring, agricultural land and land use changes, as well as to validate advanced Greek space technologies in orbit, including innovative laser optical communications applications.
It is worth noting that the Hellenic Space Dawn mission is the first Greek CubeSat twin for Earth observation, designed to validate advanced Greek space technologies, both in orbit and on the ground.
This is another successful milestone in the framework of the Ministry of Digital Governance’s “National Microsatellite Programme”, which is steadily strengthening Greece’s capabilities in the field of space technology. The programme is being implemented through the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Post and the Secretary General Konstantinos Karantzalos, with the support of the Hellenic Space Centre (ELKED), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the use of significant resources from the Recovery and Resilience Fund.
