Axiom Space is laying down the core layer of infrastructure for low-Earth orbit operations, as it builds the commercial successor to the International Space Station (ISS). Axiom has formed a partnership with Quantinuum to use Quantum Origin as a secure communication option for commercial customers using the ISS and, later, its successor spacecraft.
In its bid to further human advancement and enable the whole world to benefit from low-Earth orbit, Axiom is creating the tech stack to serve the purposes of the future users of the spacecraft. These will include academic and research teams, businesses and civilian guests. Quantum-enhanced security will be an option offered to protect the communication of information from the spacecraft back to Earth.
Quantum Origin cryptographic keys, seeded with verifiable quantum entropy, will provide certainty that datasets derived from a range of activities, such as space manufacturing, experiments in microgravity biology or gene sequencing, are securely transmitted. In its first use, Axiom sent a quantum encrypted message from the ISS, which read: “Hello Quantum World.”
Axiom’s first use of the Quantum Origin platform took place in summer 2021 and will be an option after Axiom begins commercial flights to the ISS.