YAM 4 (QEYSSat)

YAM 4 [Blue Canyon Technologies]

YAM (Yet Another Mission) is a series of micro satellites owned by Loft Orbital, which host various payloads for different customers.

The satellites consist of a standardized bus and Loft Orbital's payload hub, which houses the customer's payloads and provides power, data, mechanical, and thermal interfaces to the payloads and on-board data processing.

The QEYSSat (Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite) mission is being led by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Honeywell. The CSA awarded Honeywell a $30 million dollar contract for the design and implementation phases of the mission. The mission will demonstrate the use of advanced encryption technology, also known as quantum key distribution (QKD), in space for secure online communications on Earth. According to CSA, this QKD technology will create encryption codes that are virtually unbreakable, allowing for more secure communications in the age of quantum computing.

The satellite will be designed using BCT’s newest X-SAT line of spacecraft, specifically the X-SAT Venus-Class which can carry payloads up to 90 kg. As with other BCT X-SAT buses, the X-SAT Venus-Class is a high-agility platform, enabling the onboard instrument to collect data and revisit sites frequently. The X-SAT Venus-Class’s compact profile is designed to maximize the volume, mass and power available for the CSA mission.

YAM 4 will be launched in 2022.