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QKD-GEO for Thales Alenia Space and Hispasat Photo: Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space and Hispasat initiated the development, manufacturing, verification and validation phase of the first QKD-GEO prototype, the companies announced Jan. 21.
The QKD-GEO mission, which stands for quantum key distribution, is set to last 24 months, aims to develop components for a future quantum key distribution system from Geostationary Orbit (GEO), including a quantum payload for a geostationary satellite and the associated ground segment. The ground segment will consist of optical stations with telescopes for receiving space-transmitted photons and recovering keys, along with an operations center to manage system activities.
The Spanish Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures initiated the project, which is funded by European funds from the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan. The QKD-GEO mission has a budget of 103.5 million euros ($109 million).
QKD-GEO has completed the initial four-month system design phase.
A field test campaign is planned between the Spanish islands of La Palma and Tenerife, covering a 140-km atmospheric link. These tests will validate the ground segment and quantum payload functionality under representative conditions before implementing the operational mission in orbit.
Hispasat CEO, Miguel Ángel Panduro, stated: “The establishment of encryption keys through a quantum protocol is going to represent a paradigm shift in the secure communications of the future, where space and satellites will be configured as the ideal infrastructure for their transmission over long distances.”
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