Greece launches satellite constellation to fight wildfires

Greece has become the first country worldwide to embed a dedicated satellite array into its national firefighting system. Four small thermal‑sensing satellites built by Germany's OroraTech were placed in low‑Earth orbit in May. The sensors can detect new fires as small as four metres, far smaller than those visible to traditional satellites.

Data from the constellation are processed with artificial‑intelligence models that calculate a fire’s location, size and intensity and then send alerts directly to fire‑service commanders. The system is designed to prioritize multiple simultaneous ignitions and to filter out false alarms from hot roofs, solar panels or sun‑baked rocks. Greece’s move follows the 2018 blaze east of Athens that killed more than 100 people and a 2023 fire that became the largest ever recorded in the European Union.

The satellite network is part of a broader EU‑funded observation program costing about €200 million, which will later incorporate radar and optical satellites for border surveillance, crop monitoring and disaster response. Additional satellites are planned for launch before the end of the year.