Honeywell has announced a new Public-Private Partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide Honeywell’s Quantum Key Distribution Satellite (QKDSat), an ultra-secure telecommunications satellite that helps keep the exchange of sensitive information secure and private. The partnership supports Honeywell’s alignment of its portfolio with three powerful megatrends, including the future of aviation.
With the support of the United Kingdom Space Agency, Honeywell in the UK will lead a multi-country consortium to safeguard against communication data breaches. It will include Redwire of Belgium; Craft Prospect of the UK and several other key space engineering and satellite companies in Austria, Canada, Czechia and the UK.
The QKDSat Project between Honeywell and the ESA is designed to support civil, military and commercial entities such as financial institutions, telecommunications providers and critical infrastructure organizations, which generate large volumes of confidential data that require protection.
“Data breaches can cost companies millions of dollars, and the stakes are even higher for military or critical infrastructure organizations because any loss of confidential data can have serious national security concerns,” said Matt Milas, president, Defense and Space, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. “A quantum-safe network equipped with QKDSat can reduce the number of security breaches and safeguard confidential data.”
QKDSat will become a trusted node operated from the UK in the Honeywell-led Quantum Space & Terrestrial Applications for Telecommunications Encryption (Q-STATE) network. Q-STATE helps protect data by generating quantum randomized keys and providing intercept awareness so that it can terminate a communication channel between the QKDSat and ground terminal before any data can be stolen.
“By developing end-to-end systems that extend to in-orbit validation, the QKDSat Project is supporting the success of European and Canadian industry in the highly competitive global telecommunications market while also de-risking partners investments so that they can continue to answer market needs,” said Laurent Jaffart, ESA director of Connectivity and Secure Communications. “The European Space Agency is proud to be able to partner with Honeywell and continue this strategic initiative to drive successful operational deployment and ultimately commercial adoption.”
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