(BusinessWire) Small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) has been selected by Loft Orbital to develop and build the YAM-4 spacecraft bus for the Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) mission.
The QEYSSat mission is being led by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Honeywell. The CSA awarded Honeywell a $30 million dollar contract for the design and implementation phases of the mission. The mission will demonstrate the use of advanced encryption technology, also known as quantum key distribution (QKD), in space for secure online communications on Earth. According to CSA, this QKD technology will create encryption codes that are virtually unbreakable, allowing for more secure communications in the age of quantum computing.
“Having a secure communication infrastructure is critical in this day and age,” says George Stafford, President and CEO of Blue Canyon Technologies. “Our foundational support of the YAM-4 spacecraft will make the access to space for this type of demonstration less expensive and quicker to launch, allowing Canadian scientists to study how QKD behaves in space.”