Global quantum encryption

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At an event in the Senate Hall at LMU, Dr. Rolf-Dieter Jungk, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), put the quantum modules of the QUBE miniature satellite into operation. Punctually timed as the satellite flew over Munich, Jungk thus activated the retrieval of quantum random numbers from the satellite for the first time. This process is an important element in the generation of quantum-encrypted data and subsequently the hack-proof transmission of data worldwide. “The commissioning of the QUBE satellite is a magic moment,” said Jungk.

In August of last year, the collaborative project QUBE (Quantum Key Distribution with CubeSat), in which LMU plays a substantial role, sent its miniature satellite into orbit with the goal of testing newly developed modules in the field of quantum communication. Over the preceding months, the teams involved in the QUBE research mission had conducted comprehensive tests before they could orient the 3.53 kilogram mini-satellite with high precision on the ground station in Würzburg. During today’s flyover at an orbital altitude of 480 kilometers, the module on board QUBE transmitted random numbers from space to the ground station – a global first that forms the basis for secure quantum key distribution.

Broadcast live, this successful retrieval of quantum random numbers also represents the start of quantum encryption experiments. “This is truly a milestone; now the work with the quantum modules can begin,” said Harald Weinfurter, Professor of Experimental Quantum Physics at LMU. Weinfurter and his colleague Dr. Lukas Knips are responsible for QUBE and its successor project QUBE II at LMU.

Following the activation of the modules, there was a panel discussion on the subject of “Rethinking technological sovereignty in quantum communication with QUBE in an interdisciplinary alliance.” The panelists were Rolf-Dieter Jungk himself together with Chiara Pedersoli (CEO of OHB System), Florian David (Director of the Institute of Communications and Navigation at the German Aerospace Center), and Christoph Marquardt (FAU Erlangen).

The partners of the QUBE research mission, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, include the LMU research group (Dr. Lukas Knips, Prof. Harald Weinfurter), the research group of Prof. Christoph Marquardt at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, the Institute of Communications and Navigation at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the miniature satellite specialists at the Center for Telematics (ZfT) in Würzburg, and the company OHB System, which is specialized in satellite systems and space applications.