Crete Looks to the Stars: SPACE-Crete Secures European Excellence Funding

by Panagiotis Tsakalides (FORTH-ICS) and Vassilis Charmandaris (FORTH)

The Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) will establish the Cretan Center of Excellence in Emerging Space Technologies, structured around intelligent space systems, optical and quantum communications, and quantum sensors. The €35 million Horizon Europe Teaming project ranked 2nd among 61 proposals from across Europe.

The SPACE-Crete proposal, coordinated by Panagiotis Tsakalides, Professor at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Crete and Director of the Institute of Computer Science at FORTH, has been selected under the European call HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-ACCESS-01-01: Teaming for Excellence. With a total budget of €35 million over six years, it ranked second among 61 proposals from across Europe and first among the Greek submissions. The project starts on 1 January 2027.
The SPACE-Crete project will establish the Cretan Center of Excellence in Emerging Space Technologies (CCEST), which will operate as an independent entity with the long-term goal of financial sustainability. Leveraging the combined expertise of FORTH’s Institutes of Computer Science (ICS), Astrophysics (IA), and Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL), CCEST will be structured around three closely interconnected research pillars: intelligent space systems, optical and quantum communications, and quantum sensors.

Focusing on space communications, space surveillance and monitoring, and Earth observation, the Center will, for the first time in Southeastern Europe, create a fully integrated space ecosystem. This ecosystem will span the entire innovation spectrum, from fundamental research and new ESA-certified infrastructures, including the upgraded Skinakas Observatory, to technology maturation and industrial uptake.

Strategic Partnerships
This vision will be realized through strategic collaboration with three leading European space research organizations. CEA, France’s largest public research organization, participates through the Space Architecture & Systems and CosmoStat laboratories. DLR, Germany’s leading aerospace research center, contributes expertise in quantum technologies and satellite navigation. In addition, OHB-Hellas, a member of the German OHB SE group, the third-largest space technology company in Europe, participates as a key industrial partner. At the national level, the University of Crete plays a central role, leading the educational mission of CCEST. Through its School of Sciences and its close collaboration with FORTH, it will serve as the core for the Center’s graduate programs, helping train the next generation of space scientists and engineers on the island.

Impact for Greece and Crete
Greece has not yet secured a position in the European space economy that matches its research base. CCEST aims to change this reality by addressing a structural gap that has held back Southeastern Europe for decades. At the national level, CCEST will act as a central coordination hub for emerging space technologies, directly supporting the country’s space strategy and complementing national investments in microsatellites and ground stations. As a trusted partner of ESA, it will strengthen Greece’s participation in the European space program, expanding opportunities for involvement in large-scale European initiatives.

For Crete, the impact will be direct. The Center is expected to create more than 120 highly skilled jobs, attracting both Greek researchers from the diaspora and international scientific talent. The upgraded Skinakas Observatory will evolve into a leading European infrastructure for developing optical and quantum communication technologies, with strong prospects of becoming the country’s main operational hub for ground-to-satellite telecommunications. Our vision is to transform Crete into the ‘SPACE Island of Southeastern Europe’. At the same time, a dedicated innovation hub will foster the growth of deep-tech startups, integrating space technologies into Crete’s economic development strategy.

Education and human capital development are at the core of CCEST’s mission. The Center will offer a comprehensive range of educational opportunities, from professional training and lifelong learning programs for students and professionals to international Master’s and PhD programs. Together, these initiatives will cultivate a dynamic ecosystem of researchers and entrepreneurs, supporting the growth of the Greek space sector and helping reverse the long-standing brain drain from Crete and Greece. SPACE-Crete builds on our scientific legacy and expands it.

SPACE-Crete and FORTH acknowledge the stakeholders whose co-investment, alongside European funding, makes the realization of CCEST possible: the Ministry of Development, the Ministry of Digital Governance, the Region of Crete, and Motor Oil Hellas. Combined with European funding, the total investment in CCEST amounts to €35 million, making it one of the largest research and innovation investments undertaken in Crete. This co-investment confirms that space technologies are now a strategic priority for Greece and Crete.

For the ERCIM community, CCEST will open access to ESA-grade testing facilities and to an optical ground station testbed at Skinakas. FORTH welcomes collaboration with ERCIM member institutes in computational sensing, optical and quantum communications, and intelligent space systems.

Links:
[L1] https://www.space-crete.com/ 
[L2] https://skinakas.physics.uoc.gr/en/home/ 

Please contact:
Panagiotis Tsakalides
Institute of Computer Science, FORTH, Greece
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