The Hellenic Fire System (Hellenic Fire System) sent its first image, marking a significant milestone for Greece’s future national capability to monitor forest fires from space.
The Greek Fire Monitoring System, which was launched in early May, consists of four CubeSats, each of which carries two infrared imaging devices operating in the mid- and long-wave infrared spectral bands, designed to detect active fires, identify thermal anomalies, and estimate the radiative intensity of fires in Greece and other areas of interest.
The Hellenic Fire System was developed as part of the National Microsatellite Program. Funded by Greece through the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility, the program is the result of collaboration between the Greek government and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The National Microsatellite Program will include 13 operational satellites organized into different groups based on their instruments and mission objectives.
Following the launch of ICEYE’s two radar satellites late last year, the Hellenic Fire System, developed by OroraTech, is the second operational Earth observation mission developed under the program.
The Hellenic Fire System captured its first thermal image over Greece just two weeks after its instruments were calibrated.
It reveals the thermal signature of the Athens metropolitan area, as well as the islands of Andros, Tinos, Skyros, Chios, Kea, and Kythnos. The image also captures thermal patterns across the entire Aegean Sea, highlighting the instrument’s ability to observe both terrestrial and marine thermal phenomena.
The image demonstrates the successful performance of the satellite and its thermal infrared instrument, paving the way for the system’s future operational services.
Martin Langer, CEO of OroraTech, said: "Achieving the first acquisition so quickly demonstrates the maturity of our technology and the outstanding work of our engineering teams. We have spent years refining thermal imaging systems that offer both unparalleled image quality and operational performance. This milestone demonstrates our ability to rapidly deploy advanced space-based assets, while providing the high-quality thermal data required for forest fire detection, environmental monitoring, and scientific research.”
The successful acquisition confirms the readiness of the satellite’s thermal sensor, which is designed to provide accurate measurements of Earth’s surface temperature and rapid detection of wildfires from low Earth orbit, thanks to frequent revisit times and low-latency data transmission.
Once it is fully operational, the Hellenic Fire System will scan the entire country of Greece twice a day, providing continuous thermal monitoring to support the detection of wildfires, emergency response, and environmental monitoring. In addition to operational services, the mission will produce valuable land surface temperature data to support scientific research on climate and environmental changes throughout the Mediterranean region.
Svein-Jarle Lokas, ESA project manager for Greek national missions, stated: “Europe is facing increasingly frequent and devastating wildfires, and Greece is particularly vulnerable, which is why we are particularly pleased to see the Hellenic Fire System carry out its first operation, marking an important milestone on the path to full operational capability.”
"This achievement also underscores the power of collaboration between ESA, the Greek authorities, and European industry in providing advanced Earth observation solutions that help address some of the most pressing societal challenges of our time.”
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