National fire-detecting system
Four thermal imaging microsatellites, which measure the thermal energy emitted by an object, will monitor Greece, possibly even from the summer of 2025, to identify any fire hotspots.
With prevention being essential to dealing with natural disasters, OroraTech, together with Greek companies, will implement an array of thermal imaging satellites, as well as a ground-based data management system.
The Munich-based company won the tender proclaimed by the European Space Agency to support the National Satellite Space Program, which is led by the Hellenic Space Center.
The 20-million-euro project will be implemented by the European Space Agency, led by the Ministry of Digital Governance and the Hellenic Space Center. It is one of two projects of the National Small Satellite Program. The second project involves the creation of a very high-resolution microsatellite radar, which was contracted on Tuesday to the Open Cosmos company.
OroraTech, a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich, has developed satellite technology that provides information on forest fires to government agencies and private sector companies. As the company’s Chief Strategy Officer Thomas Grubler has stated, drought and rising temperatures are causing fires that wipe out forests with a total area the size of India every year. Therefore, the proper processing of data with accurate soil temperature is crucial in the fight against climate change.
The company’s technology detects any kind of thermal event on the ground and the processing, through artificial intelligence, of the relevant data. At the same time, through the use of historical data, it makes it possible to assess the risk of a fire and predict its spread.
The surveillance of Greek territory will be carried out through satellites the size of a shoe box, manufactured by OroraTech. They will focus on Greece, with the Greek authorities able to direct them to potential points of interest. The satellite data will be sent to a ground station to be built in Greece.
According to information, starting this summer, data received by the satellites which the company already has in orbit may be used in a pilot phase by the Greek authorities.
