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Satellites "Albania 1" and "2" fly high, but fail on the ground

Politiko 2025-07-14 16:39:21

Satellites "Albania 1" and "2" fly high, but fail on the

Several forest fires have been recorded, two of which in the Lake of Flowers, in the National Park of Flowers, and in Drenova, Fier; a flood and a landslide have also been recorded, along with illegal construction in Theth.

After more than two years since their launch into space, the Albania 1 and Albania 2 satellites are not being used enough, at least not enough to justify their $6 million cost, writes A2 CNN.

"The National Civil Protection Agency uses satellite service for disaster management throughout its four phases, specifically: for prevention, preparation, emergency response, as well as the recovery phase (damage assessment, planning of structural measures for rehabilitation, monitoring of the process of returning to normal/rehabilitation)," says the Ministry of Defense.

In the space community, Albania is, as of January 3, 2023, among the 80 countries that have satellites - a list headed by the United States of America, which has over half of them, or over 5 thousand satellites out of about 8,700 in orbit, according to the United Nations.

However, the benefits so far have only extended towards the creation of geospatial maps.

"These maps were used to analyze and assess damaged areas, where areas affected by fire are presented with the following layers: buildings, roads, areas affected by fire, areas with dense vegetation, low vegetation, without vegetation, sandy or water.", - Ministry of Defense

Data from the Ministry of Defense shows that by the end of June this year, 29 institutions, most of which are agencies, municipalities and ministries, have benefited from the Albania 1 and Albania 2 satellites, mainly in the form of images.

"The list of 22 people as contact points for 16 institutions benefiting from the project has been completed. Meetings have been held with all contact points of the institutions to familiarize them with the progress of the project, as well as with the aim of increasing the technical capacities of the structures involved. During 2024, special trainings were conducted with 38 public institutions with the participation of 212 specialists."

Since the beginning of 2023, Albania has been photographed from the air via the Albania 1 and Albania 2 satellites, with the aim of analyzing the territory's problems: from damage caused by fires and floods, to the management of protected areas or areas with severe drought that pose a risk of fires in the future.

However, illegal construction is encroaching on protected areas – as is the case in Thethi, fires continue to burn forests, while floods are not sparing crops./ A2CNN