Keynote Paper

The NanoQEY Mission:

Ground to Space Quantum Key and Entanglement Distribution Using a
Nanosatellite
T. Jennewein1*, C. Grant2, E. Choi1, C. Pugh1, C. Holloway1, JP. Bourgoin1, H. Hakima2, B. Higgins1, R. Zee2
1
Institute for Quantum Computing, and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo
2
Space Flight Laboratory, University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies
* Corresponding Author: [email protected], 519-888-4567 x37485
Abstract
The NanoQEY (Nano Quantum Encryption) Satellite is a proposed nanosatellite mission concept
developed by the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo and the
Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies
(UTIAS) that would demonstrate long-distance quantum key distribution (QKD) between two
distant ground stations on Earth using an optical uplink. SFL’s existing and proven NEMO
(Nanosatellite for Earth Monitoring and Observation) bus forms the baseline spacecraft for
NanoQEY, with a QKD receiver payload designed by IQC. The primary objective of the
NanoQEY mission would be to successfully distribute at least 10 kbit of secure key between two
optical ground stations, where the satellite acts as a trusted node. The secondary mission objective
would be to perform Bell tests for entangled photons between ground and space. We designed a
compact QKD receiver payload that would be compatible with the mass, volume, power and
performance constraints of a low-cost nanosatellite platform. The low-cost rapid schedule
“microspace” approach of UTIAS/SFL would allow for the proposed NanoQEY mission to be
developed in 2.5 years from project kick-off to launch of the spacecraft, followed by a one-year
on-orbit mission.

Introduction
Quantum key distribution (QKD) establishes highly secure keys between distant parties by using single photons to
transmit each bit of the key. According to the laws of quantum mechanics the photons cannot be tapped, copied or
measured without leaving tell-tale signs of observation. Such systems provide the peace-of-mind knowledge that
any eavesdropping can be immediately detected and addressed.
Terrestrial QKD networks using fiber optic cables or free-space atmospheric transmission are in operation today for
both research and niche commercial applications such as secure bank transactions and data transfers. There are,
however, some fundamental physical constraints that would require the implementation of a complementary solution
for distances beyond a few hundred kilometers. Even with the best-case ultra-low attenuation fiber optic cables,
light will suffer exponential signal losses as well as polarization and chromatic dispersion as it is transmitted through
the material. Conventional signal amplifiers cannot be used because doing so would effectively constitute an
observation of the quantum state of the single photons, thereby invalidating the very quantum mechanical techniques
upon which QKD depends for the detection of attack or manipulation. While transmission losses for free-space
QKD within the atmosphere can be lower than in optical fiber, such links are limited to line-of-sight and are
therefore subject to geographical constraints such as local landscape and ultimately the curvature of the Earth.

Emerging Technologies in Security and Defence II; and Quantum-Physics-based Information Security III, edited by
M. T. Gruneisen, M. Dusek, J. G. Rarity, K. L. Lewis, R. C. Hollins, T. J. Merlet, A. Toet, Proc. of SPIE
Vol. 9254, 925402 · © 2014 SPIE · CCC code: 0277-786X/14/$18 · doi: 10.1117/12.2067548

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9254 925402-1

 Figure 1: A Satellite Bassed Trusted Nod
de Would Enab
ble a Bridge bettween Two Terrrestrial Quantu
um Communications
Networks over Long Disttances

Satellites in Earth orbit represent

r the only way usingg currently feassible technologgy to provide global-distance
g e QKD
services, and
a several app proaches are studied internattionally [1]. In
I the simplestt configurationn, satellites couuld be
used as coomplementary y trusted nodees to bridge thhe distance between geograaphically disppersed QKD ground g
networks, for example, between
b cities or continents as
a shown in Fiigure 1. In thee future, quantuum repeaters maym be
developed which could establish
e long range
r quantumm entanglementt, however, theere will still bee a role for sateellites,
as the currrently most opttimistic quantuum repeater prootocols may sttill only facilitaate distances up
u to about 1,000 km
[2] on terreestrial links, while
w very recent results showw that a quantuum receiver baased on satellitte links and quuantum
memories on o ground are able to reach 10,000
1 km and beyond [3].
Objectivees of the Mission
The NanoQ QEY (Nano Qu uantum Encrypption) Satellitee is a proposedd nanosatellite mission conceept developed by the
Institute foor Quantum Coomputing (IQC C) at the Univeersity of Waterlloo and the Sppace Flight Labboratory (SFL) at the
University of Toronto In nstitute for Aerrospace Studies (UTIAS) thaat would demonstrate long-diistance quantuum key
distributionn (QKD) betw ween two distannt ground statiions on Earth using an opticcal uplink. Foor a successful QKD
demonstrattion, quantum signals must be w a low enouugh error rate to exclude an eavesdropper while
b received with
having suffficiently largee photon num mbers to accouunt for statisticcal fluctuationns [4]. Succeess for a singlle key
generation requires a fu ull QKD protocol that includdes timing anaalysis, basis reeconciliation, error correctioon and
privacy am T primary obbjective of the NanoQEY misssion is to successfully distriibute at least 10
mplification. The 1 kbit
of secure key
k between tw wo optical grouund stations sepparated by at leeast 400 km duuring the lifetim
me of the missioon.
Since the quantum
q link itself
i would bee fully charactterized it couldd also be usedd for other scieence experimennts, in
particular, the verificatioon of the non--locality of quaantum mechannics by demonnstration of quantum entangllement
over large distances. Qu uantum entangglement is of fundamental
f reelevance to quuantum physicss, yet it can onnly be
tested at ovver relatively short
s (<300 km
m) distances terrrestrially. Thee secondary objjective of the NanoQEY
N mission is
to performm a Bell test fo or entangled phhotons separateed by at least 400km,
4 wheree one photon shhall be measurred on
ground, thee other on the satellite.
s
Mission Architecture
A
The existinng and proven NEMO (Nanoosatellite for Eaarth Monitoringg and Observaation) bus developed by SFL would
be the baseeline spacecrafft for NanoQE
EY, with a QKDD receiver payyload designedd by IQC. As shown in Figu ure 2:
Exterior View
V of NanooQEY (Left) anda Spacecraftt in Orbit (Rigght)
, the satelllite would haave a volume of approximaately 40×26×220 cm3 and, throught the use
u of a lightw weight
magnesium m alloy structurre, would havee a total mass of
o only 15 kg, of which 7.5 kg
k would be occcupied by thee QKD
payload. Onboard
O compputers and raddios, like most units onboardd, would use designs
d with significant
s flighht and
design herritage to minimmize technical, financial and schedule risk. Peak power generation woould be 24 W with w a
battery cappable of provid
ding up to 20 W to the payloaad in eclipse.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9254 925402-2

NanoQEY would be launched into an orbit with an initial altitude between 400 km and 600 km and a mean LTAN
(local time of the ascending node) of noon ± 2.5 hours, the latter being driven by the need for regular eclipses as the
key transfers can only be done at night. The mission would employ the existing ground station at SFL for TT&C
(telemetry, tracking and control) and at least two optical ground stations separated by a minimum distance of 400
km for demonstrating the establishment of a secure key between them via QKD. Depending on the locations of the
optical ground stations two or three dark passes should be possible per night, however, only passes with clear skies
can be used.

Figure 2: Exterior View of NanoQEY (Left) and Spacecraft in Orbit (Right)

Concept of Operations
The minimum mission duration would be one year from launch. This is based on the design lifetime of the SFL
NEMO bus while providing sufficient time for commissioning and achieving both the primary mission –
demonstrating long-distance secure key distribution – as well as the secondary mission – performing Bell tests for
entangled photons. During nominal operations, when the NanoQEY satellite is in daylight it would be oriented for
optimal power generation and thermal control while protecting the quantum receiver payload optics from the Sun.
As the satellite approaches an optical ground station, it will slew to point the tracking beacon towards where the
station will appear on the horizon. The single photon quantum link would be acquired and the initiation of the
quantum protocol would begin, during which the resulting data would be stored for later downlink to the SFL TT&C
ground station.
In order to securely distribute encryption keys, the NanoQEY satellite will act as a “trusted node” in which the keys
would be held during operations. The satellite would create a secure key between itself and Ground Station A
during one or more passes, and then create another secure key between itself and Ground Station B during one or
more passes. To create a secure key between Station A and Station B, a Boolean combination of the two keys is
calculated on the satellite. The result is transmitted (classically and in the open) to one of the two ground stations.
Using the combined key and the knowledge of its own key, a station can then calculate the other station’s key and
use it for secure communications between themselves.
The proposed NanoQEY mission architecture is based on a quantum photon uplink from the ground to the satellite
in order to minimize the complexity of the spacecraft and payload. Having the photon source at the ground stations
would also allow for flexibility and future upgrades. The NanoQEY satellite would carry the photon polarization
detectors and the encryption key management software. Crucial systems for the mission include laser beacon
sources and receivers (at both ends) for link acquisition and tracking, polarization monitoring and compensation, and
clock alignment for the precise time-tagging of the photons is also essential. In addition to the quantum channel, a
non-secure classical RF communications link is also required for the key exchange.
QKD Payload Design
For the proposed NanoQEY mission, IQC has designed an innovative compact QKD payload that would be
compatible with the mass, volume, power and performance constraints of a low-cost nanosatellite platform. One of
the major simplifications of the payload was to remove the necessity for a fine pointing system. By using large
collection optics and narrowband filters, it is possible to increase the field-of-view (FOV) so as to collect the
quantum signal within the nominal attitude determination and control performance capabilities of the SFL NEMO

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9254 925402-3

spacecraft bus. Figure 3 provides a block diagram and solid model of the NanoQEY payload, and Figure 4 shows an
initial setup at IQC of a functional prototype representative of the NanoQEY payload.
Ground
Tracbng Quantum Beacon
Signai Signal Signal

V e

Comer CoSection Beacon

CIA Optics Laser

P./DIED.
Analyzer

a1 1 I

Detector
Modulen

VIVV
Anayss Paw
Electroncs Flbr
Payload ++

Satellite
Bus

Figure 3: Payload Solid Model (Left) and Block Diagram (Right). Solid model shows outer casing (grey), collection lens
(yellow) and radiator (brown).

Figure 4: Functional Test Setup Representative of NanoQEY Payload

Attitude Determination and Control

The attitude determination and control needed to accurately point the payload (±0.4° with 95% confidence) would
be provided by a star tracker and a set of three reaction wheels, all of which have significant heritage. SFL has
performed analyses that demonstrate the feasibility of the NEMO star tracker system to perform the required
tracking of an optical ground station. Optional upgrades to the ADCS algorithms, sensors and actuators could be
considered to further improve the fine pointing mode performance of the NanoQEY satellite.
Estimated Performance of the Mission
Using our developed approach and methods to estimate the performance for a ground to space quantum link [4], we
studied the amount of quantum key that could be transferred in the case of NanoQEY. In particular, because the
NanoQEY payload would have a large field of view, the quality of the ground station site is crucial and is ideally
located far from light pollution, and has very clear air. Furthermore, the operation of NanoQEY would be restricted
to nights without Moon. Assuming the satellite receiver has an aperture of 150 mm, operates at the optimal
wavelength of 639nm, and the ground transmitter has 500 mm aperture, is located at sea level altitude, operates a
weak-coherent pulse source with a rate of 300 MHz, the system is expected to have an average of 3 usable passes
per month, which combined would generate about 10 kbit of secure key. These key rates as well as the number of
successful passes can be improved by elevating the transmitter to higher altitudes, for example at 2400m altitude the
system is expected to have up to 12 successful passes per month.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9254 925402-4

Launch Opportunities
To date, SFL has arranged the launches of dozens of nanosatellites and microsatellites and has an excellent business
relationship with many launch providers worldwide, all of whom routinely launch into the type of orbit required by
the proposed NanoQEY mission. As a result, finding a suitable launch opportunity for NanoQEY is not expected to
be a significant issue. Furthermore, since these launch providers have all worked with SFL’s launch separation
systems (XPOD Duo) in the past, the integration of the NanoQEY satellite onto their launch vehicles and into their
manifests is expected to be straightforward.
Programmatics
The low-cost rapid schedule “microspace” approach of UTIAS/SFL would allow to develop the proposed NanoQEY
mission in 2.5 years from project kick-off to launch of the spacecraft, followed by a one-year on-orbit mission.
Figure 5 shows a notional project schedule for NanoQEY.
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
NanoQEY Spacecraft/Mission Schedule
Spacecraft/Mission Phases A to D
Launch x
Phase E - On-Orbit Spacecraft Operations
NanoQEY Payload Schedule
Preliminary Design Review (PDR) x
Critical Design Review (CDR) x
Avionics Delivery for Flatsat Testing x
Engineering Model (EM) Delivery x
Flight Model (FM) Delivery x
Phase A/B - Preliminary Design .
Phase C - Detailed Design . .
Phase D - Manufacture, Assembly, Test . . . . .
Phase D2 - Support Mission AI&T . .
Phase E - On-Orbit Payload Operations . . . .
NanoQEY Optical Ground Station Schedule
Preliminary Design . .
Detailed Design . .
Build and Test . . . . . .
Optical Ground Station Operations . . . .
2 year payload development

Figure 5: Notional NanoQEY Mission Project Schedule

Conclusion
A feasibility study performed by IQC and SFL has shown that a nanosatellite mission to demonstrate long-distance
QKD is feasible and practical with current technology. NanoQEY would employ SFL’s existing and proven NEMO
bus with an innovative compact QKD receiver payload designed by IQC that would be compatible with the mass,
volume, power and performance constraints of a low-cost nanosatellite platform. If executed using the low-cost
rapid schedule “microspace” approach of UTIAS/SFL, the proposed NanoQEY mission could be developed in 2.5
years from project kick-off to launch of the spacecraft, followed by a one-year on-orbit mission.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Federal Economic Development Agency for
Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) administered by Communitech, NSERC, MEDI Ontario, CIFAR.

[1] T. Jennewein, B. Higgins, “The quantum space race.” PHYSICSWORLD, 26(3):52–56 (2013).
[2] Neil Sinclair, Erhan Saglamyurek, Hassan Mallahzadeh, Joshua A. Slater, Mathew George, Raimund Ricken, Morgan P.
Hedges, Daniel Oblak, Christoph Simon, Wolfgang Sohler, and Wolfgang Tittel, "Spectral multiplexing for scalable quantum
photonics using an atomic frequency comb quantum memory and feed-forward control" Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 053603 (2014).
[3] K. Boone, J.-P. Bourgoin, E. Meyer-Scott, K. Heshami, T. Jennewein, and C. Simon, “Global quantum communication with
satellites and quantum repeaters” in preparation, (2014).

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9254 925402-5

[4] J-P Bourgoin, E. Meyer-Scott, Brendon L. Higgins, B. Helou, Chris Erven, Hannes Huebel, B. Kumar, D Hudson, Ian
DSouza, Ralph Girard, Raymond Laflamme, Thomas D. Jennewein, "A comprehensive design and performance analysis of low
earth orbit satellite quantum communication." New Journal of Physics 15(2), 023006 (2013).

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9254 925402-6