Sky’s the limit for Greek satellites

The countdown has started for the 13 Greek cube satellites, known as microsatellites, to go into orbit. They will be built by a total of seven joint ventures of Greek companies and academic institutions by 2024.

These are satellites the size of a washing machine, which will be used for Earth observation, telecommunications and secure connectivity. The microsatellites, through ground stations in Greece, will communicate with conventional satellites. Their comparative advantage over normal satellites is that they are in low orbit, at an altitude of 400-1,000 kilometers, so they can be used more effectively in specific missions.

With microsatellites being recommended for research purposes, the Ministry of Digital Governance, under then Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, created the National Microsatellite Program, which has a budget of over 200 million euros and is financed...