TAMPA, Fla. — Boeing announced April 16 it has built the ground-based twin for a mission aiming to demonstrate quantum networking in space, marking a key milestone ahead of launching a small satellite called Q4S next year.
In partnership with HRL Laboratories, a California-based research center Boeing partially owns, the company said it has also validated software for the payload subassembly, which would serve as the ground-based twin to its space-bound counterpart.
Boeing aims to demonstrate quantum entanglement swapping between the terrestrial and orbital payloads, transferring information without physically sending anything across the distance.
The technology is considered critical for expanding quantum networks beyond simple point-to-point communication, enabling more precise measurements from sensors that could be fed directly into more powerful quantum computers.
The hardware is currently undergoing environmental tests to ensure its counterpart within a microwave-sized satellite can withstand the rigors of getting to and operating from orbit.
“HRL has delivered an optical lab’s worth of capability in a compact, 15kg integrated space-capable assembly,” said Jay Lowell, chief scientist at Boeing’s disruptive computing, networks and sensors organization.
“After validating the space qualification of our subassembly in our Boeing El Segundo Space Simulation Laboratory, this payload subassembly will serve as the ground twin to mirror the on-orbit payload which is currently in production.”
Test Success
According to Boeing, the team successfully demonstrated four-photon quantum entanglement under lab conditions, using two entangled-photon pair sources in the subassembly.
Each source produced photon pairs with high fidelity — a measure of how closely they match the expected quantum state — indicating strong correlation between the particles.
Boeing also said the system detected more than 2,500 matching photon pairs per second during the tests, meeting the project’s requirements for accurate quantum measurements.
HRL principal investigator Jennifer Ellis said: “Demonstrating entanglement swapping between these two entangled photon pairs, will enable us to entangle previously unconnected nodes, a foundational breakthrough for building secure, scalable quantum computing and sensing networks in space.”
Potential applications for a space-based quantum internet range from ultra-secure global communications to improved Earth observation and more accurate climate modeling.
