atellite at a distance of about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles),” Pan said last year in a Google Hangout session hosted by Physics World.
The Quantum Science Satellite will also conduct communications experiments within China between ground stations in Beijing and Urumqi.
The experimental quantum communications satellite is the latest in a string of Chinese research missions.
China sent a dark matter probe into orbit in December 2015, becoming the country’s first dedicated space-based astrophysics observatory.
The recoverable Shijian 10 capsule launched in April with 19 experiments, including a groundbreaking investigation that showed mammal embryos can develop in space. The craft landed back on Earth after nearly 13 days in orbit.
Later this year, China plans to launch the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope, a dual-purpose satellite designed to scan the sky and discover new X-ray light sources, while carrying out pointed observations to study black holes and neutron stars in detail.
Researchers are developing the missions — the most ambitious space science projects in China’s history — in parallel with the country’s more well-known human spaceflight and rocket programs.
China’s second human-rated space lab, named Tiangong 2, is scheduled for launch next month from Jiuquan. Two astronauts aboard the Shenzhou 11 capsule will launch as soon as October to dock with Tiangong 2 for a 30-day mission.
The heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket is also scheduled for its maiden flight before the end of 2016, giving China the ability to launch a sample return mission to the moon next year and large segments of the country’s planned space station in the early 2020s.
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