New Dawn: Pan Jianwei reveals high-orbit quantum satellite for global network

China is developing the world’s first high-orbit quantum communication satellite to enable more efficient, globally accessible quantum networks and lay the groundwork for redefining the international standard of the second, according to Pan Jianwei, the country’s “father of quantum”.

Set to launch around 2027, the satellite will operate in geostationary orbit more than 35,000km (21,700 miles) above the Earth, Pan revealed during a pre-recorded keynote speech at a conference in Germany this month to mark the centenary of quantum mechanics.

The satellite will carry an optical atomic clock and serve as a new platform for quantum metrology research, including efforts to improve the short-term stability of atomic clocks through global entanglement distribution, and potentially pave the way for a redefinition of the International System of Units (SI) base unit of time – the second.

The satellite – named Dawn – follows Micius, the world’s first quantum satellite that was launched into low Earth orbit in 2016 by Pan’s team at the University of Science and Technology of China.

Pan revealed the satellite’s name during a live Q&A session with more than 300 quantum physicists, including four Nobel laureates, who gathered on the island of Helgoland for the week-long meeting. Dawn was designed to extend entanglement distribution distances to over 10,000km, he said.

“A high-orbit satellite is incredibly powerful. It can simultaneously see two locations on Earth that are 10,000km apart,” he told state broadcaster CCTV in May. “That makes it possible for us to establish key distributions between Beijing and South Africa.”

Entanglement distribution from high orbit could also take place around the clock, thanks to the satellite’s stationary position over Earth. “That provides continuous coverage and ensures secure communications 24/7,” Pan told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

He had previously told Chinese media that long-distance quantum communication through fibre-optic cables was limited by signal loss.

  

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