Between ten to 15 satellites developed by Greek companies are expected to be launched into space within the next two years, expanding Greece’s space science and technology ecosystem.
The satellites will be launched by the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance in collaboration with the Hellenic Space Center. At least three are scheduled for launch into Low Earth orbit in 2025, at an altitude of 500-600 kilometers.
Speaking to Greek daily Kathimerini, Konstantinos Karantzalos, secretary-general of telecommunications and post at the Ministry of Digital Governance and professor at the Remote Sensing Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens, said that taking advantage of government incentives, several Greek companies have established operations within Greece to develop the satellites.
“Three companies have already opened offices in Greece—one German, one Finnish and another active both in Spain and the UK,” he said, adding that they’ve hired Greek engineers, many of whom returned from major international firms.
“They’re also working closely with local space companies and within a few months we expect to see the first satellites built in Greece.”
In relation to the development and deployment of Greek satellites, an application has already been submitted to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)—a specialized UN agency responsible for information and communication technologies—to secure frequencies for all planned systems.
Under new legislation, all public sector entities (excluding the military) will be required to route their satellite data requests through the Hellenic Space Center. The center will then procure the necessary data from the appropriate satellite systems and deliver it to the relevant agencies.
The importance of the satellites that are currently being developed in Greece
Karantzalos emphasizes the growing importance of satellite and space system data in everyday life, both for citizens and for the efficient operation of the state. One of the simplest way to realize the importance of satellite data is to think of the location pin on our phones or the synchronization of banking systems—both made possible thanks to satellites.
“Since we do not yet have our own satellites, we currently sign contracts with foreign providers, mainly American and French companies, that operate commercial satellites capable of supplying us with data we need,” Karantzalos explains. “Each year we spend considerable sums to access satellite imagery and data for essential functions like mapping and monitoring forests, agricultural land, seas, rivers and lakes.”
With the launch of domestically-built satellites, Greece could reduce its dependency on foreign data sources by as much as 80 percent. “We will still require highly specialized datasets for certain applications, but for the most part we will become self-sufficient,” he adds.
Satellites have systems that are not only equipped to collect data from Earth but can also transmit data across the globe. Currently, thousands of satellites are active in space, with Starlink alone, owned by American aerospace company SpaceX, operating more than 7,000 small telecommunications satellites that fly in coordinated swarms and, according to experts, communicate with each other.
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