- WISeSAT.Space announces its enhanced strategic partnership with the Swiss Armed Forces.
- The collaboration includes plans to launch an upgraded version of the WISeSAT satellite in Q3 2024 using SpaceX’s rockets.
Enhanced Partnership Between Swiss Armed Forces and WISeSAT.Space
WISeSAT.Space, a subsidiary of cybersecurity firm WISeKey, announced its renewed commitment to an enhanced strategic partnership with the Swiss Armed Forces today, April 29. The primary goal of the agreement is to launch a new FOSSASAT-2E satellite packing WISeKey’s cryptographic encryption and SEALSQ’s semiconductor technology by the third quarter of this year.
The integration of SEALSQ Internet of Things (IoT) microchips is expected to significantly boost the communication capabilities of the new satellite. Thanks to its piggybacking with Elon Musk’s SpaceX Transporter Rideshare missions, WISeSat and FOSSA Systems have already deployed 17 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Another 88 LEOs are also on their way to widen SEALSQ’s global reach for its IoT apps and devices.
Details of WISeSAT.Space’s Missions
The missions leverage WISeSAT’s comprehensive software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions powered by IoT tailored for space missions. It likewise applies the insights gleaned from the extensive survey commissioned by the Swiss Ministry of Defense centering on the potential advantages of small satellites in IoT and signals intelligence (SIGINT) for Switzerland’s national security and defense purposes.
Among the key objectives of the project disclosed by the Swiss Armed Forces include the expansion of its Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) concepts by utilizing space segments with low frequencies for electronic intelligence gathering. The same program aims to determine the periodic narrowband connections between objects via WISeSAT satellites and ground stations to be used for the advancement of Mission Control Centre trainings while exploring the possible applications of IoT payloads as hosted payloads on other space segments.
About WISeSAT
WISeSAT offers a cost-effective and secure IoT service using small artificial satellites or picosatellites partnered with energy-efficient sensors. The integrity and security of the data gathered by its network are latched on certificate-based authentication (via public key infrastructure or PKI), authorization, encryption, and integrity protocols.
Based on its model’s layout, data is collected by distributed sensors in its satellites, and the information is subsequently encrypted by cryptographic keys to ensure that the intended client can only access it. The encrypted data is then sent to the LEO and routed to WISeSAT’s ground station.
Following that, the encrypted information is directed to a network server where it is unpacked using the secret key.