China launches quantum satellite

LANDMARK EVENT: The quantum satellite blasts off from the Jiuquan satellite launch center in China’s northwest Gansu province on Tuesday. (AFP)

BEIJING: Experts say China’s launch of the first quantum satellite will push forward the worldwide effort to develop the ability to send communications that can’t be penetrated by hackers.
State media reported Tuesday that the satellite was launched into space from the Jiuquan launch base in northwestern China’s Gobi desert. Chinese researchers will use it to transmit test messages between Beijing and northwestern China as well as other locations around the world.
If those tests are successful, China will take a major step toward building a worldwide network that can send messages that can’t be wiretapped or cracked through conventional methods.
The launch is a major triumph for China, which has spent years developing the satellite as part of an effort to build a global network of encrypted quantum communications.