Four Greek thermal satellites were successfully launched using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and are now in orbit around Earth. This mission was carried out under the “National Microsatellite Program,” marking a significant step towards strengthening the country’s Civil Protection and climate resilience.
Greece acquires an integrated wildfire monitoring system
The system, developed by OroraTech, represents the first national satellite system designed for the detection and monitoring of wildfires. With its implementation, Greece acquires for the first time an integrated wildfire monitoring system, substantially enhancing prevention, preparedness, and immediate response capabilities of relevant authorities. The data will be integrated into the Government Earth Observation Hub, creating a unified operational information environment for Public Administration.
🛰 Η Ελλάδα στο διάστημα! 5 μικροδορυφόροι σε τροχιά ενισχύουν παρατήρηση, ασφάλεια και καινοτομία. Υλοποιούμε με συνέπεια το «Εθνικό Πρόγραμμα Μικροδορυφόρων» με πόρους του ΤΑΑ. 🚀@iceye_global @LibreSpace_Fnd @prismagr
Photos/video: @SpaceX pic.twitter.com/MZLMKq8nMG— Dimitris Papastergiou (@papastergiougr) November 28, 2025
What the new thermal satellites offer
The four specialized thermal satellites are designed for real-time wildfire detection and monitoring. Through advanced thermal sensors, they will provide continuous monitoring of wildfire evolution, early fire outbreak detection capabilities, and precise impact assessment.
Additionally, the new satellites provide high-precision information about sea water temperatures, coastal areas, and inland water bodies (lakes and reservoirs), as well as various land use categories – from agricultural and forest areas to urban environments and wetlands. This way, they contribute decisively to systematic monitoring of critical environmental and climate parameters, enhancing the country’s capacity for evidence-based decision-making in sectors such as marine and coastal environment protection, water resource management, agricultural production, and climate change adaptation.
Two experimental microsatellites for Earth observation in orbit
As part of the same mission, two experimental microsatellites for Earth observation and advanced connectivity techniques were also placed in orbit. These will be utilized to provide near real-time data for applications such as ship detection, coastal flood monitoring, agricultural area surveillance, and land use change tracking, as well as for validating advanced Greek space technologies in orbit, including innovative laser optical communication applications.
It’s worth noting that the Hellenic Space Dawn mission is the first Greek CubeSat duo for Earth observation, designed to validate advanced Greek space technologies both in orbit and on the ground.
This represents another successful milestone within the “National Microsatellite Program” of the Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence, steadily strengthening Greece’s capabilities in space technology. The program is implemented through the General Secretariat for Telecommunications and Postal Services under Secretary General Konstantinos Karantzalos, with support from the Hellenic Space Center (ELKED), the European Space Agency (ESA), and significant funding from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
