The Greek Ministry of Digital Governance announced the investment into four thermal imaging satellites and a wildfire early warning system with OroraTech. 

Together with a consortium of Greek subcontractors, OroraTech will deliver a system for wildfire management, including ground systems and processing services, as well as a constellation of thermal imaging satellites for monitoring the entire country of Greece for wildfires. 

This development contract will be implemented by the European Space Agency and be led by the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance and the Hellenic Space Center. This €20 million investment provides an urgent solution to combating the problem of the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires.

By investing specifically into orbital technology, Greece is making a real difference in monitoring wildfires that threaten human lives, ecosystems, and the economy, Greek Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou claims. OroraTech’s wildfire detection and monitoring system scans for fires from orbit, creating unmatched situational awareness, he concluded.

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OroraTech and its Greek partners won the contract in an open tender by the European Space Agency to support the Greek National Satellites Space Program led by the Hellenic Space Center. Founded in 2018, OroraTech, a Munich-based company, uses satellite infrared data to provide wildfire intelligence. 

OroraTech’s data services will be directly connected to the Greek emergency services and employ the expertise of Greek universities and industry. The company partners with the National Technical University of Athens to develop data product algorithms, the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens on space sensor development and calibration initiatives, Satways Ltd. on product interoperability, and Attisat S.A. on building a Greek-based ground station.

According to the company, OroraTech will significantly invest in Greece over the next few years by opening an operations hub in Athens for its entire fleet of space sensors and a development team dedicated to advanced infrared sensing technology. 

FOREST-3, OroraTech’s next-generation thermal sensor.

This project comes as Greece prepares for another hot summer with the threat of destructive wildfires. In recent years, Greece has experienced a significant number of wildfires that have affected approximately 2 percent of the country’s total land area. 

Because of its rough mountainous terrain and over 6,000 islands, fighting wildfires in Greece is difficult. Monitoring for fire in remote and mountainous areas, where communication is limited, calls for more advanced detection technologies.

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