Europe will launch a demonstration satellite for secure communications with quantum encryption in 2024. Next they
The Eagle-1 satellite will be the first spaceQuantum Key Distribution (QKD) system for the European Union and could lead to a highly reliable communications network for Europe, the space agency (ESA) said in a statement.
Eagle-1 will spend three years in orbit testingtechnologies needed for a new generation of secure communications. The satellite will show "the feasibility of quantum key distribution technology, which uses the principles of quantum mechanics to distribute encryption keys in such a way that any eavesdropping attempt is immediately detected within the EU using a satellite system."
ESA signs contract for Eagle-1 with leaderproject by SES during the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Paris at the end of September. The Luxembourg company will lead a consortium of more than 20 European companies to develop the Eagle-1.
Eagle-1 is a small satellite at lowEarth orbit, it weighs only 350 kg. The Eagle-1 satellite platform will be provided by the Italian company SITAEL. It will carry a quantum key payload built by Germany's Tesat Spacecom and will be operated by SES. The project also involves companies from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
Although Eagle-1 will be the first European sovereign quantum encryption satellite, China launched such a device even earlier, in 2016.
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