Keysight will act as the prime contractor and collaborate with Sateliot to support key technical development and integration of the satellite mission.
As more satellite communications constellations are deployed, space-based networks are becoming increasingly complex, with growing interactions between satellites, ground systems, and terrestrial 5G infrastructure. This presents new challenges related to quality of service, anomaly management, operational security, and trust in network behavior once deployed. Looking ahead to 6G, where non-terrestrial infrastructure will play a central role, ensuring access to reliable and verifiable data will be critical to enabling autonomous, AI-driven network operations.
The project, supported by ESA’s Space for 5G/6G & Sustainable Connectivity programme track within the Agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) programme, is designed to address these challenges by establishing a secure and verifiable trust framework for NTN environments. Keysight will leverage its expertise in design, testing, and measurement to explore how blockchain, AI, machine learning (ML), and digital calibration certificates can be applied across the entire NTN lifecycle, from satellite manufacturing and calibration to on-orbit operation and service delivery.
Antonio Franchi, ESA’s Space for 5G/6G & Sustainable Connectivity programme manager , said: “The future of connectivity in Europe depends on networks that are not only advanced, but also reliable, resilient, and secure. Support for this project, which benefits from Keysight's leadership and Sateliot's expertise, underscores ESA's commitment to helping drive the technologies needed to ensure the integration of non-terrestrial and terrestrial networks. Together, we are not only taking a step towards defending European communications against spoofing and manipulation, but also ensuring that our Member States remain at the forefront of secure 5G and future 6G communications.
Eric Taylor, Vice President of Aerospace, Defense, and Government Solutions at Keysight, stated, “This initiative represents an important step toward the security of hybrid space-ground networks at a time when global deployments of non-ground networks (NTNs) are accelerating. By combining testing and measurement expertise with AI- and blockchain-based assurance technologies, this work will demonstrate how trust can be integrated throughout the entire NTN lifecycle, from design and validation to on-orbit operation.”
By integrating these technologies, the program aims to improve the integrity and reliability of space-based IoT, 5G, and future 6G communications, helping to protect networks against spoofing, tampering, and other cyber threats. Throughout the program, development will progress from laboratory research and prototyping to a full-fledged in-orbit demonstration, validating how blockchain-based trust, autonomous anomaly detection, and secure telemetry can be applied in satellite operational environments.
This ESA-funded program is expected to lay the foundation for future trusted network operations (NTN), strengthen Europe's position in secure satellite connectivity and accelerate the adoption of trusted space-based 5G/6G networks worldwide.
