Boeing, the US defense giant, announced on September 10, 2024, that it intends to demonstrate quantum networks in space. This technological advancement has the potential to revolutionize military data processing and target identification if it is effective.
The company intends to initiate the Q4S project in 2026, using its own research and development funds. The experiment will illustrate the concept of entanglement exchange, which involves the capacity to connect or entangle the quantum states of particles that have not previously interacted. This procedure is indispensable for the development of extensive, hacker-resistant networks in outer space.
Boeing’s chief engineer for disruptive computing, networks, and sensors, Jay Lowell, stated that the company initiated efforts to address the issue of entanglement exchange in 2021 in order to expedite the advancement of quantum technology. Boeing aims to gain a deeper understanding of quantum network construction through this demonstration, which holds the potential to revolutionize various sectors, including defense.
In a recent interview with Defense News, Lowell asserted that no one has yet achieved the established goal. He said this was necessary to accomplish the objective of establishing global quantum networks that interconnect computers and sensors worldwide.
The United States allocates approximately $1 billion annually to the advancement of quantum technology through its National Quantum Initiative, which it implemented in 2018 to preserve its competitive advantage over China.
China has conducted numerous substantial experiments over the past decade with the objective of achieving quantum network breakthroughs. In 2016, China demonstrated the ability to establish quantum keys over long distances with its Quantum Experiments at Space Scale demonstration. The Jinan-1 low-orbit satellite, launched in 2022, was designed to conduct experiments on real-time quantum key distribution between the satellite and a ground station, as well as to carry out technical verification. It was a continuation of China’s attempts to generate keys at a significantly quicker pace. According to the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), the new microsatellite weighed approximately six times less than the world’s first quantum communication satellite, China’s “Mozi” spacecraft, which weighed over 600 kg. Chinese universities and research institutions, including USTC, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology, jointly developed the new “Jinan-1” satellite. As per USTC, its launch and operation in near-Earth orbit were expected to contribute to the development of quantum communication technology and enhance China’s information security.
Sergey Khanenkov director of quantum communications projects at Rostelecom summed up the Jian 1 satellite as a “big breakthrough”, explaining that the new satellite “is much more functional, lighter, has a higher data transfer rate, and a network of such satellites will allow China to create a quantum communications network.”
According to Lowell, the entanglement exchange procedure is “more than twice as complex” as the distribution of keys.
To have any prospect of constructing the quantum networks we desire, “we need” to demonstrate that these technologies are functional in terms of their impact, he stated.
The year-long mission’s objective is to demonstrate the exchange of entanglement between two sources within a single satellite. In September 2024, Boeing will conduct comprehensive payload testing and has concluded several key design reviews in collaboration with its partner for payload and technology, HRL Laboratories. Lowell expects to deliver the payload within a year.
Spacecraft production will begin in 2025 at Astro Digital, a California-based company that is building the satellite that will house the payload.
Lowell underscored that Boeing’s primary objective has been to mitigate the risk of mission failure by implementing alternatives and contingencies within the system.
There are only a handful of “things” that, if they malfunction, “we are dead,” he stated. If those few items are successful, “we are confident” that the experiment will proceed efficiently and “we will gather” valuable information, he added.
Boeing’s next goal will be to conduct a multi-satellite experiment to validate its capability within a limited space network, provided that Q4S can demonstrate entanglement exchange within a single spacecraft. The company is currently in the process of investigating government and commercial partnerships for the subsequent phase, according to Lowell. However, the company can fund the mission internally.
He noted that Boeing’s broader strategy to showcase new technologies and demonstrate how these capabilities integrate into the company’s current portfolio includes Q4S and any future initiatives.
“The better we do this,” the easier it is for “our customers” to understand the context of the information in a familiar way, according to Lowell. The better the demonstration, the closer it brings the customer to “our vision” and even pulls us further towards “their vision,” he summed up.