Secure communication via quantum cryptography
An ultra-secure telecommunications satellite that uses the unbreakable laws of physics to keep information private is being developed in partnership with ESA.
Today’s world is ever more interconnected, but these connections are vulnerable to cyberattacks.
The Quantum Key Distribution Satellite (QKDSat) is a highly innovative Partnership Project to demonstrate how a space-based infrastructure employing the laws of quantum mechanics can be used to keep secure the exchange of sensitive information between several parties.
The QKDSat Partnership Project will provide secure cryptographic key delivery services to customers on the ground for a range of applications, serving private and government sectors where the security and confidentiality of shared information is crucial.
This Partnership Project will significantly boost Europe’s capabilities in cybersecurity and secure communications. It is helping to reinforce European scientific leadership and excellence in quantum secure communication, and to increase Europe’s autonomy in this strategic field.
ESA is developing QKDSat with private partner ArQit, a British quantum key distribution services operator. ArQit is leading an industrial consortium that includes: QinetiQ of Belgium; British Telecom and Teledyne e2v of the United Kingdom; and several key players in Germany, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
QKDSat is due to be launched into low-Earth orbit.
The QKDSat Partnership Project is supporting the success of European and Canadian industry in the highly competitive global telecommunications market, by developing sustainable end-to-end systems up to in-orbit validation, de-risking partners investments to answer market needs.
