The purchase of four thermal satellites and a wildfire system from OroraTech, a provider of thermal intelligence, was announced by the Ministry of Digital Governance. OroraTech will supply a wildfire control system, comprising ground systems and processing services, together with a constellation of thermal imaging satellites tasked with keeping an eye out for wildfires across the entirety of Greece, in collaboration with a group of Greek subcontractors. The Hellenic Space Centre and the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance will oversee the implementation of this development contract by the European Space Agency. An immediate solution to the issue of wildfires becoming more frequent and intense is provided by this €20 million expenditure.
Greek Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou says, “We are making a real difference in monitoring wildfires that threaten human lives, our ecosystems, and our economy by investing specifically into orbital technology. OroraTech’s system for detecting and monitoring wildfires creates unparalleled situational awareness by scanning for fires from orbit.”
The European Space Agency’s Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes, says, “The capability OroraTech developed through the agency’s funding is a powerful example of space technologies providing immediate and critical benefits here on Earth. We at the European Space Agency continue to provide our expertise as we build a safer and more resilient Europe, in tandem with OroraTech and the Ministry of Digital Governance building Greece’s thermal constellation.”
The data services provided by OroraTech will leverage the knowledge of Greek industry and universities and will be directly linked to the emergency services in Greece. The company collaborates with the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens on space sensor development and calibration initiatives, Satways on product interoperability, Attisat S.A. on the construction of a ground station in Greece, and the National Technical University of Athens on data product algorithms.
OroraTech intends to make a large investment in Greece by establishing an operations centre in Athens and a specialized development team for cutting-edge infrared sensing technologies. Greece anticipates another possibly devastating wildfire season, therefore this program attempts to improve wildfire monitoring skills in the difficult topography of the nation.
