Sitael will build the Platino satellite platform for the Eagle-1 quantum system

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Sitael (Angel group) will design and build for Ses, the Luxembourg company world leader in satellite communications, the totally “made in Italy” multifunctional satellite platform PLATINO, a project of the Italian Space Agency, for the EU quantum cryptography system EAGLE-1.

The choice of Ses fell on PLATINO for its high level of modularity and flexibility which allows to embark on board different types of instruments. The platform is all-electric and multifunctional, is designed to perform a wide range of applications, can also be deployed in constellation and allows a variety of missions in low Earth orbit ranging from radar observation to optics, from telecommunications to “electronic intelligence”.

It is also and above all the best of the Italian space industry and is based on the technologies developed by Sitael together with Thales Alenia Space (jv between Thales 67% and Leonardo 33%), Leonardo and Airbus Italia thanks to a technological development contract with the Asi.

Eagle-1 system

The partnership between ESA (European space agency) and a consortium led by Ses with 20 European actors, supported by the EU Commission, will therefore see the development of the first complete system (end-to-end) and entirely based on sovereign European technologies for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) from space, precisely the EAGLE-1 system which will be launched in 2024. A dedicated satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO), a ground network and a state-of-the-art QKD operations center will thus provide governments and EU institutions as well as critical economic sectors early access to long-distance QKD, paving the way towards an ultra-secure data transmission system in Europe.

Italian space economy

«PLATINO represents a real and concrete paradigm shift of the New Space Economy – explains Chiara Pertosa, CEO of Sitael – which has economic repercussions and strengthens, thanks to ASI’s vision, the Italian positioning in the international aerospace sector».