China has successfully launched its first quantum satellite on, ushering a new step in the development of hack-proof communications networks.
The 600-kilogram Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) satellite was launched aboard a Long March 2D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi De3sert early Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. It is set to orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers, circling the Earth once every 90 minutes.
Nicknamed "Micius" after fifth century BC Chinese philosopher, the QUESS will conduct a two-year mission to study the phenomenon of quantum entanglement and is also tasked with conducting tests that will serve to lay the groundwork for the development of a working quantum communications network.
Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon in which two particles become interconnected with each other such that one change that happens to one particle also occurs instantly on the other. Called by Albert Einstein as "spooky action at a distance", the effect occurs regardless of distance; even if the two particles are separated by several kilometers, the change in one will still be transmitted to the other instantly.
Because of its properties, the phenomenon can be used to create a very efficient and secure communications pathway. By encoding the message to be sent as changes within one of the entangled particles, it can be instantly received by the other side without lag.
Furthermore, scientists say that such a system is could theoretically be impossible to hack into. In order to read the message, one has to intercept and measure the state of the sending particle. However, measuring the particle causes its state to change, losing the information.
However, despite its promising capabilities, there are still challenges that have to be overcome for quantum communications to work, QUESS project chief researcher Pan Jianwei said. He said that previous land-based quantum communications experiments were only able to send information only up to 500 kilometers due to loss of entangled photons during transmission through fiber optic cables.
As QUESS is in space, Pan explained, there will be less interference and information loss, he reasoned.
To test the idea, Pan and his team plan to beam photons from QUESS to ground stations in Austria, Canada, Germany, and Italy, the Global Times reported.
If QUESS proves successful with its mission, China will likely send more satellites into orbit to create a global scale network, Pan said.