One of the priorities of modern economies, namely the European Union in general and Spain in particular, is digitalisation. An essential element of communications is the security of communications, necessary to preserve data privacy, intellectual and industrial property, and the security and continuity of supply in essential or critical infrastructures, such as energy, water, transport or the Internet itself.
In response to this need, the European Commission will launch the European Quantum Communications Infrastructure (Euro-QCI), with cybersecurity secured by quantum keys.
With this action, the development of the space capabilities necessary to design, develop and build the first QKD (Quantum Key Distribution) quantum key distribution mission is pursued.
The project aims to develop a satellite payload and associated ground segment for a complete quantum key distribution mission with subsystems and state-of-the-art satellite communications systems. A high involvement of the country-based space industry in its manufacture is expected. It aims to be the first geostationary satellite to embark on a QKD quantum mission.
Execution and results
The tender for the purchase of pre-commercial public for the development of R&D services for the development of innovative solutions involving the development of two prototypes of experimental payloads and their associated ground segments for quantum key distribution (QKD System – “Quantum Key Distribution”) was published on September 21, 2023.