WISeKey Plans Launch of 21st Low Earth Orbit Satellite

Welcome to the latest edition of "Quantum Leap" where The Fly decodes news and activity in the quantum computing space.SPACE QUANTUM INTERNET:WISeKeyannounced that its subsidiary WISeSat.Space is preparing for the launch of its 21st low-Earth orbit satellite. The launch is currently scheduled for the end of March from California with SpaceX. For this new launch, WISeSat is teaming with Sealsqand Sealcoin.AI. Together, all parties aim to extend previous proofs of concept by embedding WISeKey's root of trust, with Sealsq's post-quantum chip, and Sealcoin wallet directly onboard the WISeSat platform in an effort to accelerate their vision for the space quantum internet, by delivering quantum-secure, broadband via a constellation of LEO satellites. The company said, "The satellites also integrate incremental innovations derived from Sealsq's quantum roadmap, leveraging advances from its partner ecosystem and startup investment program to enhance security, performance, and operational efficiency. This upcoming launch represents the first operational deployment of a new generation of WISeSat satellites, which will progressively populate and modernize its constellation. With an average satellite lifespan of approximately five years, continuous renewal is essential to integrate new technologies, improve performance, and introduce advanced functionalities."TECH&FEST:Sealsq showcased its quantum resistant chip at Tech&Fest. The company said, "The QS7001 is a quantum-resistant secure microcontroller built around a 32-bit RISC-V core tightly coupled with a dedicated cryptographic acceleration subsystem. Unlike software-based PQC implementations running on general-purpose MCUs, the QS7001 implements SHA 3 lattice-based post-quantum primitive directly in silicon, significantly reducing cycle count, memory footprint, and power consumption while mitigating timing and side-channel leakage risks."POST QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY:Orange Business and Ciscoreported their collaboration on post-quantum cryptography-secured solutions over the Orange Business global network infrastructure. This provides customers with long-term protection against future quantum attacks for their network traffic. Orange Business is the first European service provider to announce PQC-secured global network services based on Cisco 8000 Series Secure Routers. The company said these are specifically designed for the quantum era. Post-quantum cryptography-secured WAN services are available effective immediately. Post-quantum cryptography-secured Orange Business managed Cisco SD-WAN services are targeted for commercial availability in Q3 of 2026. The company said, "By taking a standards-aligned approach to quantum-safe networking with PQC over SD-WAN, Orange and Cisco are helping customers protect their operations and maintain customer trust in the future. The goal is to ensure that data communications and digital services remain secure, even as quantum security threats evolve, without requiring customers to undergo sudden, disruptive changes."THREAT LANDSCAPE:Sealsq contended that AI advancements "do not alter" the quantum threat model. The company announced that while recent developments in advanced enterprise AI systems, including Anthropic's release of Claude Opus 4.6, represent a significant evolution in large-scale classical artificial intelligence, these developments do not introduce any material change to the quantum computing threat landscape nor to the technical requirements for quantum-secure cryptographic architectures.