China Launches World's First Quantum Satellite

In the wake of mass scale hacks targeting LinkedIn, Twitter, Myspace and other keynote social media channels, the need to defend online data against cyber criminals has amplified. Now, China is stepping up its game with the world’s first quantum communications satellite, engineered to stop hackers in their tracks.

Experts have hailed the technology as game changing, and assert that it could crystallise the country as a global leader in quantum communication. Its purpose is to actively improve the communist nation’s data transmission, as well as thwart hackers.

Quantum armour

So what makes a quantum satellite different from a regular artificial body? By establishing a strong quantum communication between space and Earth, the satellite will be able to securely send and receive data that can’t be copied, stolen or covertly observed.

Pan Jianwei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is the head scientist behind the project, and was on-hand to announce the launch at a seminar in Shanghai. He referred explicitly to the Edward Snowden case, pointing out that data in transmission networks is continually at risk of being attacked or monitored by hackers.

"There are many bottlenecks in the information security," he explained.  

A major achievement for China’s Strategic Priority Program on Space Science

The launch is part of China’s Strategic Priority Program on Space Science, which is aiming to hit play on five major missions over the next few years. Currently, the craft is honing in on high-energy particles in a bid to better understand dark matter, yet its new purpose will see it operate primarily as a quantum satellite. In April 2016 China launched the SJ-10 satellite, while later this year the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) hopes to send a sophisticated X-ray telescope into orbit, with the aim of studying black holes and neutron stars.

As well as warding off hackers, the quantum communications satellite will also help to power China’s massive 1242-mile quantum computer network. Linking Shanghai and Beijing, the network is still under construction, yet expected to go live by the end of the year.

While China may be the new global leader in quantum communication, experts assert that there is marked room for improvement when it comes to cheaper LIMS services. ‘Cost Reduction in Healthcare LIMS’ analyses cost comparison rates between different LIMS service roles across the globe, concluding with suggestions on how to reduce costs for LIMS end user segments operating in China and other low cost regions.