SITAEL, a company of the Angel Group (which also includes MERMEC, VAIMOO and Blackshape) and the only 100% Italian-owned company that designs and manufactures mini satellites for low orbit, has been awarded the contract with the Luxembourg provider of global satellite connectivity services SES, for the supply of a PLATiNO platform within the ESA EAGLE-1 project, to develop and validate the first satellite Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system.
The PLATiNO satellite platform was chosen by SES for the high level of modularity and flexibility that allows different types of instruments to be embarked on board. This is the first ever contract between an Italian company and the world leader in satellite connectivity services SES for the supply of a satellite platform.
The PLATiNO platform is the result of the best capabilities of the Italian space industry and is based on the technologies developed by SITAEL together with Thales Alenia Space (joint venture between Thales 67% and Leonardo 33%), Leonardo and Airbus Italia thanks to a technological development contract with ASI (Italian Space Agency). PLATiNO is a new generation of all-electric and multifunctional platform, designed to perform a wide range of applications, which can also be deployed in constellation. Despite its compact size, it has unique aiming performance and maneuvering agility and enables a variety of missions in low Earth orbit ranging from radar observation to optical observation, telecommunications to electronic intelligence.
The innovative partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA) and a consortium led by SES with 20 European actors, supported by the European Commission, will see the development of the first complete (end-to-end) system entirely based on sovereign European technologies for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) from space: the EAGLE-1 system. A dedicated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite, ground network and state-of-the-art QKD operations centre will provide governments and institutions in the European Union, as well as critical economic sectors, with early access to long-distance QKD, paving the way towards an ultra-secure data transmission system in Europe. The EAGLE-1 system, which will be launched in 2024, will gather valuable operational feedback during the mission and represents an important step towards a secure and scalable European quantum communication infrastructure.
As part of the EAGLE-1 mission, SITAEL will be responsible, as Prime Contractor to SES, for the design and implementation of the PLATiNO platform, the loading of the quantum payload provided by SES, up to the launch and commissioning of the satellite.
“We are very proud of the trust SES has placed in SITAEL and the opportunity to actively contribute to the vision of ESA, the European Commission and SES towards the future of Quantum Key Distribution.” – underlines Chiara Pertosa, CEO of SITAEL. “PLATINO represents a real and concrete paradigm shift of the New Space Economy, generating important economic effects and an export opportunity that enhances public investments. The technological development achieved thanks to the vision of the Italian Space Agency strengthens the Italian positioning in the aerospace sector on the international scene”.
“Space innovation is key to supporting the EU’s vision for secure connectivity and data exchange systems. As part of this ESA initiative, supported by the European Commission and with key European partners such as SITAEL on board, we are proud to shape the future of secure quantum communications, with space technologies as a key element,” said Ruy Pinto, Chief Technology Officer at SES. “We are very pleased that some of Italy’s best space expertise is joining us and other members of the European consortium to work on the EAGLE-1 project.”
EAGLE-1 is an end-to-end satellite system for secure quantum key distribution (QKD). As part of the project, a consortium of 20 European companies led by SES, with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission, will design, develop, launch and operate the EAGLE-1 end-to-end satellite system for secure quantum key distribution (QKD), which enables Europe-wide validation and demonstration of the next-generation cybersecurity space system.
Using the EAGLE-1 system, ESA and European Union Member States will take the first step to demonstrate and validate QKD technologies from low-Earth orbit to Earth. The EAGLE-1 project will provide valuable mission data for the next generation of quantum communication infrastructures (QCIs), contributing, for example, to EU plans to deploy sovereign and autonomous transboundary secure quantum communication networks. The project is co-funded by the ESA contribution of Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and the Czech Republic under ESA’s “ARTES” (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems) programme, as well as by the European Commission through Horizon Europe.
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