In orbit, the Chinese satellite Mo-Tzu has successfully transmitted data to Earth for the first time in the world using quantum cryptography, which eliminates the possibility of hacking.
The attention of scientists from all over the world is riveted to the quantum satellite "Mo-Tzu". A year ago, the Chinese launched an apparatus of this type into orbit for the first time in the world. On August 16, the Long March 2D rocket with a vehicle on board was launched from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome in northern China. Already on August 19, 2016, Chinese specialists received the first data. The ground control station received 202 megabytes of information in good quality, after which the scientists began to process it.
The device was put into operation on January 18, 2017 after it successfully passed a series of tests. The tests included checking the performance of the satellite platform, testing under load and testing various communication channels of the spacecraft with ground complexes. Mo-tzu was planned to be put into operation even earlier, in November 2016, but then these terms were postponed.
Now "Mo-Tzu" for the first time in the world transmitted data to Earth using quantum cryptography. According to information provided by Xinhua News Agency, the signal was sent to the Xinglong Observation Station located in the Yanshan Mountain Range in northern China. Also, the signal from the satellite was sent to the Nanshan station in the northwestern part of the PRC. At the time of data transmission, the distance between the Mo-Tzu spacecraft and the Earth ranged from 645 to 1200 km. Experts note that the transmission of data using a fiber-optic cable at such a distance would take many times longer.
The window for the experiment was opened for ten minutes when the satellite flew over the territory of the PRC. During this time, it is possible to generate and transmit to the station 300 kbit of information that cannot be read by an outside observer.
The mass of the Mo-Tzu satellite is 600 kg. Its total cost, according to experts, is about US $ 100 million. At the moment the device is in a sun-synchronous orbit.
Analogous to conventional data transmission methods, quantum networks have one distinct advantage: they are protected from third-party reading. The latter is achieved through the so-called. uncertainty principle of Heisenberg. Someone outside may try to hack the quantum channel, but in this case the transmitted information will be simply destroyed. Chinese scientists believe that the Mo-Tzu satellite will allow the Celestial Empire to build a communication network invulnerable to any hackers. This can be done by about 2030.
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