China to Launch World's First Quantum Space Satellite in July

The launch of the world's first quantum space satellite developed by China is scheduled for July, according to the project's chief scientist Pan Jianwei.

BEIJING (Sputnik) — According to the physicist, cited by the People's Daily Online, the quantum network will connect Beijing, Jinan, Hefei and Shanghai among other cities spanning a 2,000-kilometer (1,243 miles) area.

Chinese physicists reportedly inaugurated the quantum satellite development program in 2011. In 2013, quantum optical fiber communication was introduced across the Beijing-Shanghai line.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, scientists have been studying encryption methods to secure communications against hacking. Quantum networks use Heisenberg's uncertainty principle to ensure an interceptor can neither crack encryption codes nor wiretap lines.