29/11/2025
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Due to the EU-funded Restoration and Resilience Facility, and thru collaboration between the Greek authorities, the non-public satellite tv for pc firm ICEYE and the European Area Company (ESA), two new high-resolution radar satellites have been launched to strengthen catastrophe administration, environmental monitoring and nationwide safety throughout Greece.
The 2 ICEYE artificial aperture radar satellites, built-in by way of Exolaunch, had been lifted into orbit on 28 November 2025, aboard the SpaceX Transporter-15 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Area Power Base, California, USA – which additionally included two ESA HydroGNSS Scout satellites and the following batch of Italy’s IRIDE satellites.
These new ICEYE satellites mark the primary launch of the operational Earth commentary satellites underneath the Greek Nationwide Small Satellite tv for pc Programme, which foresees a constellation of 13 satellites, grouped into 4 classes based mostly on their measurement devices.
Financed by Greece via the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility, the programme is designed to advance Greece’s satellite tv for pc expertise and utility capabilities, promote job creation and financial development, and strengthen the nation’s capability for catastrophe administration, steady environmental monitoring and nationwide safety.
Whereas the Hellenic Area Middle and the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance lead the venture, ESA supplies the overarching framework and helps ICEYE’s growth of each satellites.
By means of this function, ESA ensures that such nationwide initiatives contribute to, and profit from, a unified system for Earth commentary knowledge trade amongst its Member States.
The 2 new ICEYE satellites, which every weigh round 120 kg, use X-band in a number of commentary modes to supply day-and-night high-resolution photos, as much as 25 cm decision.
Info from the 2 satellites will improve Greece’s capabilities in catastrophe administration and nationwide safety. They may allow sooner response occasions and simpler administration of pure disasters equivalent to floods, wildfires and landslides.
Greece has an settlement with ICEYE underneath which the satellites can be operated in orbit by ICEYE. By means of this partnership, Greece additionally beneficial properties entry to ICEYE’s current artificial aperture radar satellite tv for pc constellation – the most important of its form on this planet – enabling the nation to observe its areas of curiosity whereas growing its personal area capabilities.
ESA’s Director of Earth Remark Programmes, Simonetta Cheli, mentioned, “The collection of ICEYE to develop the artificial aperture radar satellites for Greece underlines ESA’s ongoing dedication to supporting nationwide area initiatives from its Member States.
“And, talking of nationwide area initiatives, the following batch of IRIDE satellites for Italy had been additionally launched on the identical rocket. This strategy additionally showcases ESA’s distinctive function in maximising the shared advantages of such programmes via a unified framework for Earth commentary knowledge trade.
“The inclusion of ICEYE’s X-band artificial aperture radar functionality within the Greek Nationwide Small Satellite tv for pc Programme is a compelling instance of how area applied sciences translate into tangible and important advantages on Earth.”
Greece’s Minister of Digital Governance and AI, Dimitrios Papastergiou, mentioned, “The launch of the 2 ICEYE satellites marks a major step ahead for Greece’s means to observe and shield key areas of curiosity, each on land and at sea, in day and night time and underneath any climate circumstances. They won’t solely strengthen our catastrophe response capabilities however may also drive innovation throughout the Greek area sector.”
Subsequent yr, a further eleven operational Earth commentary satellites will be a part of the constellation underneath the Greek Nationwide Small Satellite tv for pc Programme, additional enhancing Greece’s Earth commentary and area monitoring capabilities.
This growth will embrace 4 thermal-infrared satellites developed by OroraTech, designed to detect warmth signatures and monitor wildfires and thermal exercise, together with seven high-resolution optical satellites developed by Open Cosmos, offering detailed imagery to help environmental monitoring, agriculture and concrete planning.
