Greek CubeSat ERMIS-3 completes laser link to optical ground station
An 8U CubeSat from the University of Athens linked to a Greek optical ground station by laser.
ERMIS-3, an 8U CubeSat developed by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, has established a link with an optical ground station. The demonstration, supported by the European Space Agency, came only weeks after the satellite's commissioning.
The link used optical terminals from Lithuanian company Astrolight. ERMIS-3 carries the ATLAS-1 terminal, paired with a terminal at the Holomondas Optical Ground Station, HolOGS-1, which was developed by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The link was established quickly and demonstrated precise pointing, acquisition and tracking, one of the mission's main objectives. It is Greece's first optical link with a low Earth orbit satellite.
ERMIS-3 launched on 30 March 2026 with ERMIS-1 and ERMIS-2 as part of an in-orbit demonstration programme for small-satellite communications technologies. ESA contributed technical expertise to ERMIS-3, including environmental testing and optical alignment at its ESTEC centre in the Netherlands.
The mission is part of Greece's National Space Programme, which ESA implements on behalf of the Greek government.