T. Hiemstra

The EAGLE-1 mission is an important step towards a pan-European ultra-secure quantum key distribution network. The mission is planned, developed and built in a consortium of Universities, research institutes, and space companies partially funded by ESA, the European Commission, and supported by national delegations. The EAGLE-1 satellite will be launched into space at the end of next year or early 2026 and represents the first European space-based quantum key distribution (QKD) system. Within the EAGLE-1 consortium, Tesat-Spacecom GmbH & Co. KG is responsible for developing and integrating the payload assembly of the EAGLE-1 satellite. Quantum technologies are an emerging technology, which are starting to reach the maturity for industrialisation. Companies are identifying business cases that support the development of quantum technologies for commercial applications. The knowledge transfer between researchers and industry poses an important bottleneck for a fast implementation of new products. In addition, the harsh and "unusual" environment of space missions poses a unique set of requirements on the development and qualification of devices. In this contribution, we report on the implementation of the EAGLE-1 mission as well as the challenges in transferring a technology from academia to an industrial product for space.