THESSALONIKI – Greece’s national program for microsatellites, which could also be used by local self-government throughout Greece, is proceeding at a good pace, Digital Governance and A.I. Minister Dimitris Papastergiou told Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMMA) in Thessaloniki during the ‘Kleisthenis’ conference on the theme of Urban Mobility.
“We have already launched the first nano- and micro-satellites,” Papastergiou said. “In terms of microsatellites launched by the private sector, two by Iceye have already been launched, as have two nanosatellites such as Mice by Prisma, and the remaining ones of the Democritus University of Thrace. They orbit very high and impart key knowledge to us as well in terms of data, but especially for people who constructed them, speaking of nanosatellites. If weather conditions permit, we will be launching another four nanosatellites on March 30 – four of the Kapodistrian University of Athens, one of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and one of Planetek – therefore it is very important that the program is proceeding at the expected rate within the timeline. At the end of April we will be launching four private-sector microsatellites of Orora Tech, leaving the optical microsatellites by Open Cosmos for the summer,” he added.
The satellite ecosystem is a unique opportunity for Greece not just in terms of data, but mostly in terms of experience and an ecosystem that has become visible and comprises nearly 90 companies, the e-Governance and A.I. minister said. “We had launched a Request for Information (RFI) for the large military satellite. Talks are progressing. The National Defense Ministry is seeking the right methods and technical approaches to reach a decision on the kind of implementation it will use. At the same time, we are looking at any possible funding source, e.g. SAFE or other funding that could be found in the near future, and for ground infrastructure. For example, the microsatellites’ program does not include equipment in space only, but includes optical systems in our space observatories, that is, to further boost this system and ecosystem that has been created,” he pointed out.
Material from AMNA was used in this report.