SES, ESA and European Commission Partnering to Deliver Satellite Quantum Cryptography System for European Cybersecurity
22 September 2022 - 6:40PM
Business Wire
SES-led consortium will design, develop and
validate in-orbit technologies for secure transmission of
cryptographic keys and operate EAGLE-1 satellite to securely
connect countries in Europe
An SES-led consortium of 20 European companies, with the
European Space Agency (ESA) and European Commission support, will
design, develop, launch and operate the EAGLE-1 satellite-based
end-to-end system for secure Quantum Key Distribution (QKD),
enabling in-orbit validation and demonstration of next-generation
cyber-security across Europe.
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SES, ESA and European Commission
Partnering to Deliver Satellite Quantum Cryptography System for
European Cybersecurity (Graphic: Business Wire)
The groundbreaking partnership between ESA and an SES-led
consortium, with the European Commission support, is advancing
Europe to the front of space innovation with satellite-enabled QKD.
Together with its European partners, SES will build the first
sovereign European end-to-end space-based QKD system, developing
and operating a dedicated low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and
building a state-of-the-art QKD operations centre in Luxembourg.
The project is co-funded by the ESA contribution of Germany,
Luxembourg, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium
and the Czech Republic under ARTES, as well as the European
Commission through Horizon Europe.
Using the EAGLE-1 system, ESA and the European Union Member
States will achieve the first step to demonstrate and validate QKD
technologies from low earth orbit to the ground. The EAGLE-1
project will provide valuable mission data for next generation
Quantum Communication Infrastructures (QCIs), contributing for
example to the EU plans to deploy a sovereign, autonomous
cross-border quantum secure communications networks.
The EAGLE-1 satellite is due to launch in 2024 and will then
complete three years of in-orbit mission supported by the European
Commission. During this operational phase, the satellite will allow
European Union governments and institutions as well as critical
business sectors early access to long-distance QKD to path the way
towards an EU constellation enabling ultra-secure data
transmissions.
To implement the ultra-secure cryptographic key exchange system
of EAGLE-1, the consortium will develop the QKD payload,
terrestrial optical station, scalable quantum operational networks
and key management system to interface with national QCIs.
Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General, said, “European space
innovation has gained strong momentum both from a technology
perspective and in terms of commercialisation. It allows us to
develop and implement next-generation, future-proof projects in
space across critical domains like secure communication,
next-generation networks and cybersecurity. Led by ESA, partially
financed by the European Commission and implemented by SES, EAGLE-1
is a major step towards making the secure and scalable European
Quantum Communications Infrastructure a reality.”
Elodie Viau, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated
Applications at ESA, said, “In today’s increasingly interconnected
world, keeping information secure is paramount. Robust encryption
keys as well as technologies enabling their secure distribution are
vital to this endeavour. We are proud to forge this partnership
between ESA and a consortium led by SES to create the EAGLE-1
highly secure and autonomous quantum key distribution system. ESA
enables the European space industry to succeed by federating
industry around large-scale programmes, achieving competitive leaps
forward.”
“European security and sovereignty in a future world of quantum
computing is critical to the success of Europe and its Member
States,” said Steve Collar, CEO of SES. “We are proud to leverage
our multi-orbit credentials and our innovative platforms and
solutions in partnership with ESA, the European Commission and the
Luxembourg Government to advance quantum communications and
implement the EAGLE-1 system, which is called to be a cornerstone
for the development of secure and sovereign European networks of
the future.”
For more information, visit the EAGLE-1 Newsroom
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About ESA
The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space.
ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the
mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and
ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens
of Europe and the world. For more information see www.esa.int
The Telecommunications and Integrated Applications Directorate
(TIA) supports innovation to boost the competitiveness of European
industry in the global space market. This involves a wide range of
activities, from space-based technology, systems, products for
telecommunications development to the down-to-Earth application of
space-based services. It also calls for engagement with a wide
range of industrial, academic, and institutional partners. For more
information, please visit our website: https://artes.esa.int/
About SES
SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere
on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and
providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in
global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world’s
only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique
combination of global coverage and high performance, including the
commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By
leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is
able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on
land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the world’s
leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators,
governments, connectivity and cloud service providers,
broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SES’s
video network carries ~8,000 channels and has an unparalleled reach
of 366 million households, delivering managed media services for
both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris
and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information
is available at: www.ses.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220922005427/en/
For further information please contact: Suzanne Ong
External Communications Tel. +352 710 725 500
suzanne.ong@ses.com
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