Jinan-1 Quantum Microsatellite and QKD by University of Science and Technology of China (USTC): status and timeline

Jinan-1 Quantum Microsatellite and QKD

Enable space-based quantum secure communication across continents and establish orbital QKD networks.

PilotStage 3 of 5

First QKD between hemispheres March 2025; deorbited April 2025. Next constellation planned 2027.

Updated 19 Mar 2025Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Next-generation QKD constellation with China Telecom planned

Jinan-1 satellite launched27 Jul 2022Complete.
First QKD between Northern and Southern HemispheresMar 2025Complete.
Secure 12,900 km quantum link demonstratedMar 2025Complete.
Satellite deorbited19 Apr 2025Complete.
Next-generation QKD constellation with China Telecom plannedTarget 2027Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Jinan-1 quantum satellite establishes first QKD between hemispheres (Beijing to South Africa, 12,900 km)19 Mar 2025

Upcoming

2027Next-generation QKD constellation with China Telecom planned (next)

Current obstacles

Atmospheric interferenceClouds and aerosols interrupt quantum signals; satellite passes last only minutes.
Scaling to constellationMoving from demonstration to global network requires coordination of many satellites.

Physics limits

Atmospheric photon lossQuantum photons are absorbed by atmosphere, reducing range and reliability.
Orbital mechanics constraintsSatellites have predictable orbits; reliable channels require constellations.
Classical post-processing overheadQKD requires back-and-forth classical messages for sifting and privacy amplification.

How it works

3 parts

Satellite QKD

Space-based quantum key exchange

Satellite transmits 850 nm quantum photons to ground stations for decoy-state BB84.

Decoy-state BB84

Practical quantum security

Protocol sends photons at different intensities to detect eavesdropping and establish keys.

Real-time key distillation

Instant secure keys per pass

Keys are generated in real time during a satellite pass, not after days of processing.

Spec sheet

Spec	Jinan-1 Quantum Microsatellite and QKD
Total satellite mass	95.9 kg^R (reported)
Quantum payload mass	22.7 kg^R (reported)
Orbital altitude	~500 km^R (reported)
QKD test distance	12,900 km^R (reported)
Min secure key per pass	406,784 bits^R (reported)
Max secure key per pass	1,071,104 bits^R (reported)
QKD laser wavelength	850 nm^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

1 update

Wed 19 Mar 2025

Major: Jinan-1 quantum satellite establishes first QKD between hemispheres (Beijing to South Africa, 12,900 km)PaperTest

About University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)

The team behind Jinan-1 Quantum Microsatellite and QKD

University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)

Quantum computing, superconducting processors, quantum research

CAS flagship university. Quantum research under Pan Jianwei; developed Zuchongzhi 3.0, a 105-qubit processor with record quantum advantage.

Hosts Division of Quantum Physics & Information (Pan Jianwei, 2001) with leading superconducting and trapped-ion labs.
March 2025: Zuchongzhi 3.0 unveiled, a 105-qubit processor with 99.9% single-qubit and 99.62% two-qubit fidelity.
Zuchongzhi 3.0 surpassed Google's Sycamore by six orders of magnitude; deployed on Tianyan cloud with 37M+ global visits.

en.ustc.edu.cn (opens en.ustc.edu.cn)Company profile →

Founded: 195868 yrs
Headquarters: China
Status: Public
Valuation: public
Works in: QuantumSuperconducting
Coverage: 3 programs · 6 updateslatest 15 May 2026checked 10 Oct
Partners: Chinese Academy of Sciences (opens cas.cn)Innovation Academy for Quantum Information (opens cas.cn)Tianyan quantum cloud platform (opens quantum.ustc.edu.cn)
People: Pan Jianwei (opens quantum.ustc.edu.cn)Division Director, Quantum Physics & InformationZhu XiaoboChief Designer, Zuchongzhi processorWu YulinQuantum scientist

Spec

Jinan-1 Quantum Microsatellite and QKD

Total satellite mass

95.9 kg^R (reported)

Quantum payload mass

22.7 kg^R (reported)

Orbital altitude

~500 km^R (reported)

QKD test distance

12,900 km^R (reported)

Min secure key per pass

406,784 bits^R (reported)

Max secure key per pass

1,071,104 bits^R (reported)

QKD laser wavelength

850 nm^R (reported)