go to the original language article
What connects Alexandroupoli with Cape Canaveral? If everything goes according to plan, on November 19, 2025, a Falcon SpaceX 9 rocket will leave the surface of the Earth from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral in the USA, and the answer will be known by every Greek. A seemingly “ordinary” SpaceX launch, except that among the many satellites of various sizes that the reusable rocket will carry this time, there will be a special compartment with a Greek nanosatellite.
Once it reaches the predetermined altitude as the rocket travels at speeds exceeding 20,000 km/h, this compartment with the Greek nanosatellite will be “released” from the compartment – note that it is the cubesat deployment system of the specialized company Exolaunch TestPod – and the Greek nanosatellite will be left in space. It is the moment when at an altitude of 510 kilometers from the Earth’s surface, MICE-1 will be in space…
If everything happens as designed by its creators, MICE-1 will be in the designated position within eight to ten weeks and will be present for its creators, the technicians of the Greek Prisma Electronics based in the border town of Alexandroupoli. The nanosatellite will then be activated, will start to gather energy with its solar panels, will come to life, and will be detected by the Ground Station.
This effort to create in the high-tech sector began in 1991 by three brothers, and by 2025 it is certain that it finds the border residents happier than ever. “Our effort is already successful. We built MICE-1, it is ready, and it is currently in the USA to be launched after receiving the green light from ESA. It works flawlessly in the lab, the so-called Final Acceptance Review has been completed, and we are preparing to enjoy the launch and the next stages of this high-tech journey that started for us, with Greek knowledge,” says Mr. Christos Giordamlis, CEO of Prisma Electronics, speaking on the radio of the Athens-Macedonian News Agency “Agency 104.9 FM” and on the show “Special Missions.”
From Alexandroupoli to Space
Space does not “understand” what geographical boundaries mean, and today’s space age emphasizes this. “The MICE-1 satellite is the first Greek nanosatellite developed by Prisma Electronics, with the acronym MICE-1 created from the composition Maritime Identification & Communication systEm-1. It is a nanosatellite designed for maritime identification and communications using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies,” says Mr. Giordamlis, describing a complex yet small-sized construction that incorporates data analysis capabilities using machine learning as well as advanced encryption techniques for secure data transmission and analysis.
As he explains, this first MICE aims to make Greece’s entry into the new era of nanosatellite applications for maritime orientation in space a reality, with practical application in the market. For the MICE-1 mission, it was necessary, as he explains, to address the absence of a framework in collaboration with the relevant ministry to obtain the necessary licenses from the International Telecommunication Union, while many stages, such as transporting MICE-1 to Germany for exhaustive testing, had to be completed so that the satellite could “operate in the incredibly harsh conditions prevailing in space.”
“It is a satellite that has been designed entirely to meet our needs. We made the most of the opportunity given to us by the Ministry of Digital Governance, with funding from Greece 2.0 and collaboration with the European Space Agency so that something we saw was needed for the LAROS system, which we are installing on many ships in deep-sea shipping, could be practically applied and we could have our own research satellite to explore cutting-edge technologies, to design future services that can provide more competitive advantages to the LAROS system and its application in deep-sea shipping,” explains Mr. Giordamlis.
LAROS, as a complete system for monitoring the efficient operation of ships, has been installed on over 800 ships worldwide today, and the technology of this nanosatellite built in Alexandroupoli represents an ambition, the development of a constellation of nanosatellites. The satellite station at Democritus University of Thrace will communicate on two frequencies with MICE-1, thus allowing the exchange of information packets for processing on the ground. “The better this is done, the better we can design better services in the future,” explained the CEO of Prisma Electronics.
University and Business
MICE-1 is in the Exolaunch chamber at SpaceX facilities and in a few days will make its first leap into the void for… the good of made in Greece technological advancement. “For many years we were looking for a provider in space that could offer specific cutting-edge services, which was not feasible for the specifications we wanted to have, and so we were planning next steps. When this opportunity arose, the company’s engineers had not only the funding tool but also access to specialists in the global arena. Thus, they could develop the plan, procure materials, conduct tests, complete the project, and finalize checks for such a satellite, allowing it to take shape, receive the green light from ESA and SpaceX, and take the path to enter orbit…” says Mr. Giordamlis. According to the CEO of Prisma Electronics, this satellite has systems that will assist in analyzing the systems it has onboard for optimal performance of a ship.
For the design and implementation of MICE-1, the direct and indirect involvement of more than 40 engineers from the company was required, while there was also close collaboration with Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH) for the operation of the main Ground Station, as well as collaboration with European companies, Endurosat, GoSpace, and IC-SPACE, while the goal of the team behind MICE-1 is to create a constellation of nanosatellites autonomously and through collaborations.
“We collaborated well with DUTH and helped them build their own nanosatellite within the timelines, to pass their own tests so that together a business with a university could do things differently, breaking away from the logic of conventional practices in Greece,” added Mr. Giordamlis, who emphasized that the same collaborative approach is being pursued by the company’s people in efforts with AUTH and other universities in Greece, “in an effort for young people in the country to know that there is technology in Greece, there is business that invests in people and in teams that make the impossible possible,” emphasized Mr. Giordamlis.
Greece and its Mature Leap into Space
“This year we had significant milestones. We had the Prime Minister visiting a company that manufactures microsatellites in Greece, a news item that aligns with the image of a Greek ecosystem of space technology that we have been discussing on the radio of the Athens-Macedonian News Agency for the past few years. At the same time, we saw how technology brings new scientists into the field, Greeks who have left Greece and want to return. The most important thing is that we see companies producing innovation in the field,” emphasized Dr. Athanasios Potsi, president of the Association of Greek Industries of Space Technology and Applications (EBIDITE), speaking on the radio of the Athens-Macedonian News Agency “Agency 104.9 FM” and on the show about military, defense, and aerospace technology, “Special Missions.”
Dr. Potsi explained how technology brings new scientists into the field of space construction, Greeks who have left Greece and are returning, while at the same time producing innovation in Greece, which is currently implementing a program “that invests more than 250 million euros in the sector.” According to Mr. Potsi, there are currently four different assembly and certification lines for microsatellites in Greece, a reality that constitutes “the stepping stone for further advancement” in the aerospace sector, something that was “a dream for people in the field” five years ago, as he noted.
He also added that a state infrastructure is being prepared to certify these types of satellites in Greece before they fly into space, a “leap we did not imagine as we transition from creating subsystems of satellites to an industry that speaks of a complete ‘system’, the satellite and the completion of the process up to the launch within Greece now,” explained the president of EBIDITE.
“What is also very important and we had this year is that we started launching Greek satellites into space, a beginning of this was made with the university in Thrace with its own cubesat that was built in Greece, and within the next few months, every two months we will have the launch of Greek cubesats until we reach the number of twelve,” described Mr. Potsi. “Imagine that until now we were discussing a country that wants to enter the aerospace field, to create the relevant infrastructure and value chain, and now this has largely been achieved.
Greece, with Greek hands and Greek scientists, is currently building microsatellites that are gradually being launched into space and is beginning to create all this infrastructure to establish the trademark we all want, “Space Technologies Made in Greece,” which will showcase the capabilities being developed,” added Mr. Potsi, who emphasized that in the country, there are currently 12 microsatellites being built that, as he explained, will operate operationally, meaning they will capture images that will be sent to Greece where processing and production of results will take place, a program that should, he added, have continuity.
“A space strategy document is essential. Space operates with long-term planning, and whatever is created must be maintained; by 2027, 2028, 2029, you must plan the next generation of microsatellites that will replace those that will be launched in the coming months,” said Mr. Potsi.
Mr. Potsi spoke about the maturation of this specific ecosystem, the collaboration of universities with industry to create an industrial, innovative base in Greece, while he explained that international conditions also reward the efforts made in the direction of space technology.
“Space is beginning to create a new economy on a global level; companies are now building business activity, and thus as a country, you can mature a technological infrastructure and bring about development,” added Mr. Potsi. “Development does not come on its own. No matter how much space became a ‘trend’, if there was no foundation, infrastructure, and groundwork in the country to absorb this specific development, we would simply be observers,” added the president of the Association of Greek Industries of Space Technology and Applications.
Thrace, Greece, the European Union, and Space…
The upcoming launch of MICE-1 is linked to European decisions on satellite technologies, with Greece having waved its flag for years over geostationary satellites. “The European space market is evolving. Europe has begun to invest in its own technologies, which should involve either geostationary satellites, medium orbit satellites, or low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites like nanosatellites,” said Mr. Christodoulos Protopapas, CEO of Hellas Sat, on the radio of the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.
<p"It is no coincidence that in the new period of the EU, Space along with Defense has been placed under one Commissioner, 'Andrius Kubilius. It seems that the course in the EU is changing on some issues, and thus, for example, Germany and Poland and other populous countries are moving to have exclusively their own satellites or satellite communications, but Greece has a significant advantage since Hellas Sat and the other three remaining satellite organizations in Europe can help in this area," added the executive with two and a half decades of experience in the field.
The satellite communication systems and the EU
<p"In Europe, there was the One Web of Eutelsat, and here developments have occurred recently for the replacement of satellites, but the EU must know that it will have to dig deep into its pockets and continue to fund such capabilities since every five years these satellites will be replaced as they are in low orbit, where they have a lifespan of about 5 to 6 years, after which they drop lower and are destroyed.
On a global level, such satellite communication systems have begun to show movement as, beyond Starlink, Amazon is preparing its own constellation of satellites. As an option in the EU and the European framework, there is the construction of Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites, satellites that are located between 2,000 and 36,000 kilometers from the Earth’s surface.
This is technology that inherently requires a smaller number of satellites, but for the European endeavor, significant funding and time are required. Time to build the satellites, to “lift” them, to coordinate, to determine who will be funded for this, how they will receive the money, how the consortiums will be created. It is very encouraging that there are now manufacturing capabilities even at the level of nanosatellites.
In the EU, a plan has been created for the IRIS² Satellite Constellation, but this is a consortium that has been created with the previous view of events and does not take into account the latest developments regarding satellite telecommunications.
At the same time, Europe must also utilize geostationary satellites, which continue to provide significant services and, in many cases, are more strategically important than Elon Musk’s system,” explained Mr. Protopapas, who clarified that dozens of scientists are working in Greece and managing the Hellas Sat satellites while completing the specifications for Hellas Sat 5.
“Satellite technology is also related to the issue of communication security. Geostationary satellites, for example, are controlled from European soil, and countries can monitor the operation of such telecommunications satellites and thus feel more secure, while these specific satellites have a lifespan of about 15 to 20 years during which they provide uninterrupted communication. It is an investment of about 250 million euros that will be amortized, for example, by the EU at a rate of about 20 million per year, while a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites to provide uninterrupted service requires hundreds of satellites that are simultaneously in orbit and must be replaced every five years.
All developments, in any case, lead to technological leaps in space technology, and it is important for Greeks to know that impressive steps are being taken in their country. After all, it is planned that Hellas Sat 5 will be the first operational satellite project dealing with lasers passing through the atmosphere and optical communications that are unobtrusive, secure, and fast. Space technology generally fortifies the country,” noted Mr. Protopapas. (11/15/25)