Connecting to the source…
"Young scientists constantly migrate abroad", "the best minds of our country are leaving him", "Masters and PhD holders only find jobs in coffee shops"; bitter headlines that we have all been reading in recent years in newspapers and on TV screens. And then: "The first Greek-made satellite is a fact". Obviously, the news doesn't invalidate it either (black) truth of the above, however, it also expresses a reality. An object as technologically advanced and as good in construction as a satellite was designed and implemented here in our country by Greek engineers, technicians and programmers, and in no time begins his journey to the International Space Station.
But let's start the story from the beginning. About five years ago, the Belgian non-profit Von Karman Institute;, which, among others, specializes in the aeronautical-aerospace sector, issued a call for interest to build a number of microsatellites; these would be part of an experiment to study the thermosphere, of the penultimate layer of the earth's atmosphere. Unique benefits to participants were the sensor that would be needed for the experiment's measurements and a "better price" for the satellite's journey into space..
Among the institutions that responded was the University of Patras, which decided to follow a difficult but much more interesting – and more economical – path: instead of ordering the various subsystems of the satellite ready-made from specialized companies in the space, he undertook to build it entirely with his own strength. So far so good, however in its beginnings 2015 and with time margins narrowing, το πρότζεκτ ήταν ακόμη βαλτωμένο λόγω των μεγάλων οικονομικών δυσχερειών καθώς και των προβλημάτων στη συνεργασία μεταξύ των διαφόρων διπλωματικών προγραμμάτων, τα οποία υποτίθεται πως θα συναποτελούσαν την τελική κατασκευή. Και τότε κατέφτασε το… ιππικό.
"Young scientists constantly migrate abroad", "the best minds of our country are leaving him", "Masters and PhD holders only find jobs in coffee shops"; bitter headlines that we have all been reading in recent years in newspapers and on TV screens. And then: "The first Greek-made satellite is a fact". Obviously, the news doesn't invalidate it either (black) truth of the above, however, it also expresses a reality. An object as technologically advanced and as good in construction as a satellite was designed and implemented here in our country by Greek engineers, technicians and programmers, and in no time begins his journey to the International Space Station.
But let's start the story from the beginning. About five years ago, the Belgian non-profit Von Karman Institute;, which, among others, specializes in the aeronautical-aerospace sector, issued a call for interest to build a number of microsatellites; these would be part of an experiment to study the thermosphere, of the penultimate layer of the earth's atmosphere. Unique benefits to participants were the sensor that would be needed for the experiment's measurements and a "better price" for the satellite's journey into space..
Among the institutions that responded was the University of Patras, which decided to follow a difficult but much more interesting – and more economical – path: instead of ordering the various subsystems of the satellite ready-made from specialized companies in the space, he undertook to build it entirely with his own strength. So far so good, however in its beginnings 2015 and with time margins narrowing, το πρότζεκτ ήταν ακόμη βαλτωμένο λόγω των μεγάλων οικονομικών δυσχερειών καθώς και των προβλημάτων στη συνεργασία μεταξύ των διαφόρων διπλωματικών προγραμμάτων, τα οποία υποτίθεται πως θα συναποτελούσαν την τελική κατασκευή. Και τότε κατέφτασε το… ιππικό.
