Credit: Tel Aviv University
Communication is a part of our everyday lives using complex mathematical computations. While this method continues to improve due to advancing technology, this also allows for weak encryption of data being sent along with potential for errors and noise, which could corrupt the data or message being sent. In contrast to this, a new field known as quantum communication is also advancing at an incredible rate and could allow for better data/message encryption along with less errors/noise within the data itself.
This is what researchers at the Center for Quantum Science and Technology at Tel Aviv University are trying to both achieve and advance, as they have recently taken a leap forward in quantum optical communication after constructing the first satellite observatory in Israel capable of optical and quantum communication with satellites in Earth orbit. The observatory will also be used for tracking, sensing, and hyperspectral imaging, as well.
Along with the 14-foot diameter observatory dome, the observatory also features a tracking robot capable of carrying two telescopes at the same time, a tracking system, a camera system consisting of a primary high-speed camera and secondary tracking cameras, single-photon detectors, and laser equipment. The robot arm is presently hoisting a single 24-inch telescope, but future designs will incorporate a telescope for infrared imaging, along with hyperspectral and thermal cameras.
Project collaborators Dr. Georgi Gary Rozenman Michael Tzukran. (Credit: Tel Aviv University)
“The ground station is designed for observing satellites, which are small bodies 400-500 kilometers high that move at about 30,000 kilometers an hour,” said Dr. Yaron Oz, who is a professor at Tel Aviv University and head of the Center for Quantum Science and Technology at Tel Aviv University, as well. “The ability to track satellites is a very precise skill. The satellite passes by very quickly, and during this time you have to photograph it in the center of the image and in several different ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum in order to learn details about it. This is the first and only satellite observatory in Israel, and it is among the most advanced in the entire world.”
During the project’s first stage, the researchers will attempt to communicate between ground stations using optical communication then quantum communication. This will be followed by communication between ground stations and drones then between ground stations and a satellite operated by an international partner. The long-term goal will be to build their own “blue and white” quantum satellite, which the researchers hope to achieve within the next two to three years.
How will quantum communication advance in the coming years and decades, and will it eventually replace classical communication entirely? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
Sources: International Journal of Trend in Research and Development, EurekAlert!
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