Three ERMIS nanosatellites that were made in Greece are scheduled to be launched into space on Monday, in order to be placed into orbit at 500km.
The satellites – built by the Department of Aerospace Science of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens – will be launched on March 30 at 13:20 by SpaceX using a Falcon 9 rocket. The launch will be broadcast live via the company’s website (see link below).
According to an announcement by the University of Athens, the ERMIS program (ERMIS Hellenic Cubesat Demonstration Mission) aims to certify new, innovative space technologies and applications, such as 5G communications for the Internet of Things (IoT), satellite telecommunications, and Earth observation using a hyperspectral camera.
According to the same information, the ERMIS program constitutes the first part of the National Microsatellite Program, with a budget of 200 million euros, and is funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF – EU Next Generation EU).
The project, with a budget of approximately 4.9 million euros, is coordinated by the newly established Department of Aerospace Science & Technology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (www.aerospace.uoa.gr). Participating in the project are OQ Hellas, the University of Patras, the University of the Aegean, and the National Observatory of Athens. The ERMIS space mission is supervised by the European Space Agency (ESA), with the support of the Ministry of Digital Governance.
Useful links (translated):
Link for the ERMIS space mission: https://www.aerospace.uoa.gr/erevnitika-erga.php
ERMIS mission video: https://youtu.be/zrI1dOoIvr4
Live broadcast of the nanosatellite launch: https://www.spacex.com/launches/transporter-16
