MILAN – Officina Stellare, an Italian manufacturer of advanced opto-mechanical systems, has signed a 1.84 million euro ($2.0 million) contract with the Barcelona-based Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), the company announced March 17.
The contract covers the design and construction of an optical ground station for future laser and quantum-encrypted space-to-Earth communications. The infrastructure will include core optical ground station components, from telescope to dome, from testing platforms to fully integrated control software.
"The station is conceived to be compatible with both laser and quantum communication applications," Pierpaolo Pergola, Officina Stellare's chief commercial officer, told SpaceNews.
