Beginning of 1964
A group of Dutch astronomers visits Greece, in order to examine the possibility of installing in Greece a telescope belonging to the Utrecht Observatory, which would be used by astronomers of all the astronomical institutes of the Netherlands. The group attends a meeting of the Greek National Committee for Astronomy in Athens on the climatological data for various places in Greece.
Beginning of 1964 – Visit of Dutch astronomers to Greece
A group of Dutch astronomers visits Greece, in order to examine the possibility of installing in Greece a telescope belonging to the Utrecht Observatory, which would be used by astronomers of all the astronomical institutes of the Netherlands. The group attendes a meeting of the Greek National Committee for Astronomy in Athens on the climatological data for various places in Greece.
Spring 1964 – First Visit to Stephani
The group of Dutch astronomers accompanied by Professor Lysimachos N. Mavridis, Director of the Department of Geodetic Astronomy at the University of Thessaloniki, visits the village of Stephani for the first time, along with some other locations in Corinthia and Argolis. It was decided that Stephani had the best preconditions for the installation of the observatory.
1966
The NATO Science Committee awards to Lysimachos N. Mavridis and Heinz Neckel from the Hamburg Observatory a research grant of 14.000$, with the purpose of installing in Greece a 38cm reflactor (f/21) belonging to the Hamburg Observatory and to carry out photoelectric Observations. Based on the 1964 visits, Mavridis and Neckel decide to install the telescope in Stephani.
October 1966 – Installation of French Satellite Tracking Station
A satellite tracking station belonging to the French National Space Center (CNES) is installed on the grounds of the Stephanion Observatory.