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IEEE/LEOS Summer Topical Meetings

Towards Quantum Communications with Satellites

Thomas D. Jennewein

Published Jul 1, 2018• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Satellite based quantum communications will enable long distances, or even global quantum networking, of quantum optical signals. We give an overview on the activities towards implementing proposed Canadian Quantum Satellite Mission, Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) [1]. We will summarize laboratory tests of the payload components and its demonstration to establish quantum links between a ground station and an aircraft. These results establish the viability of a quantum communication receiver satellite.

DOI
10.1109/phosst.2018.8456781

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Satellite based quantum communications will enable long distances, or even global quantum networking, of quantum optical signals. We give an overview on the activities towards implementing proposed Canadian Quantum Satellite Mission, Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) [1]. We will summarize laboratory tests of the payload components and its demonstration to establish quantum links between a ground station and an aircraft. These results establish the viability of a quantum communication receiver satellite.
Satellites offer the means to extend quantum communication and quantum key distribution towards global distances. We will outline the proposed QEYSSat mission proposal, which involves a quantum receiver onboard a satellite that measures quantum signals sent up from the ground. We present recent studies on the expected performance for quantum links from ground to space. Further studies include the demonstration of high-loss quantum transmission, and analyzing the effects of a fluctuating optical link on quantum signals and how these fluctuations can actually be exploited to improve the link performance.
We present the white paper developed during the QEYSSat 2.0 study, which was undertaken between June 2021 and March 2022. The study objective was to establish a technology road-map for a Canada-wide quantum network enabled by satellites. We survey the state-of-art in quantum communication technologies, identify the main applications and architectures, review the technical readiness levels and technology bottlenecks and identify a future mission scenario. We report the findings of a dedicated one-day workshop that included Canadian stakeholders from government, industry and academia to gather inputs and insights for the applications and technical road-map. We also provide an overview of the Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) mission expected to launch in 2024–2025 and its anticipated outcomes. One of the main outcomes of this study is that developing the main elements for a Canada-wide quantum internet will have the highest level of impact, which includes Canada-wide entanglement distribution and teleportation. We present and analyze a possible future mission (“QEYSSat 2.0”) that would enable long-range quantum teleportation across Canada as an important step towards this vision.
This paper provides an overview of the major quantum communications programs at Honeywell Aerospace. Honeywell Aerospace is implementing, on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency, the Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat), a Canadian science and technology demonstration mission which aims to explore the next generation of secure communications infrastructure delivered via satellites. The QEYSSat mission will use a satellite receiver to demonstrate the distribution of secure keys on a global scale via uplink configuration. Planned experiments with the QEYSSat mission include long-range Bell tests of quantum entanglement, and demonstrations of quantum key distribution (QKD) between QEYSSat and several ground stations to provide a testbed for practical key distribution and management. QEYSSat will also be used to further develop the practicality of space-based quantum key distribution. The QEYSSat satellite will be capable of acting as both a weak coherent pulse transmitter as well as a receiver for both BB84 and BBM92 protocols. Honeywell also will fly a secondary laser communications terminal as a hosted payload on QEYSSat. This payload will serve as a flight demonstrator for Honeywell’s commercial inter-satellite and space-to-ground laser communications terminal. The secondary payload will be enabled to also support a weak coherent pulse downlink. In addition to heritage-building, the secondary payload will also serve as an operations demonstration for the upcoming QKDSat network.Beyond QEYSSat, Honeywell is implementing the QKDSat mission in a public-private partnership with the European Space Agency. The QKDSat program consists of an initial deployment of a single satellite and multiple user ground stations for the purposes of establishing an operational global quantum key distribution infrastructure capable of connecting ground-based quantum key distribution networks at scale. The hybrid laser communications terminals hosted on QKDSat are based on the QEYSSat secondary payload design and provide a high-rate BB84 downlink as well as a high-speed bidirectional classical communications channel.Beyond space segments, Honeywell is designing and building a network of ground stations to support both the QEYSSat and QKDSat programs. The QEYSSat mission is expected to operate in conjunction with an optical quantum ground station developed by Honeywell and the Institute for Quantum Computing, hosted by the Canadian Space Agency. The QKDSat mission focuses on a ground network which includes sites in the UK and continental Europe.This paper provides an overview of both the QEYSSat and QKDSat missions including the quantum payloads, ground segments, and the payload and mission-level performance indicators.
Abstract Satellite-based quantum terminals are a feasible way to extend the reach of quantum communication protocols such as quantum key distribution (QKD) to the global scale. To that end, prior demonstrations have shown QKD transmissions from airborne platforms to receivers on ground, but none have shown QKD transmissions from ground to a moving aircraft, the latter scenario having simplicity and flexibility advantages for a hypothetical satellite. Here, we demonstrate QKD from a ground transmitter to a receiver prototype mounted on an airplane in flight. We have specifically designed our receiver prototype to consist of many components that are compatible with the environment and resource constraints of a satellite. Coupled with our relocatable ground station system, optical links with distances of 3–10 km were maintained and quantum signals transmitted while traversing angular rates similar to those observed of low-Earth-orbit satellites. For some passes of the aircraft over the ground station, links were established within 10 s of position data transmission, and with link times of a few minutes and received quantum bit error rates typically ≈3%–5% , we generated secure keys up to 868 kb in length. By successfully generating secure keys over several different pass configurations, we demonstrate the viability of technology that constitutes a quantum receiver satellite payload and provide a blueprint for future satellite missions to build upon.
Space offers a very unique environment for quantum physics experiments at regimes of distance and velocity not possible on ground. In the recent years there have been a range of theoretical and experimental studies towards the feasibility of performing quantum physics and quantum information science experiments in space. Such a system is possible with today's technologies and would allow to demonstrate the application of quantum secured transmission, and perform quantum optics science tests. In the near term the most promising approach is using a low-earth-orbiting (LEO) satellite either as an independent nano-sat, a piggyback payload on a larger mission, or even on the International Space Station (ISS). I will outline the envisioned quantum experiments and the requirements for the technology.