A technological achievement for Tel Aviv University: In less than two years, the university has launched three satellites into space. The third satellite, TAU SAT-3, was launched into space yesterday by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida. According to the researchers, the TAU SAT-3 satellite, developed at the Center for Nanosatellites at Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Engineering, constitutes a scientific breakthrough and is intended to pave the way for a demonstration of optical and quantum communication from space using tiny satellites.
TAU SAT-3, a satellite only 20 cm. in size, was launched to an altitude of 550 km. and it is expected to orbit the Earth for about five years. For the first time, it is carrying batteries made in Israel, by Epsilor, that will provide it with energy for its entire life in orbit. The satellite is designed to perform a number of scientific assignments, the main one being to communicate with the new and advanced optical ground station, built on the roof of the Shenkar physics building. This is the first time in Israel, and one of the very few times in the world, when an optical ground station will succeed in locking, tracking and collecting data from a tiny satellite that, when observed from Earth, is even smaller than the size of a single pixel! The researchers state that the meaning of all this technologically is that in the future it will be possible to build miniaturized systems for optical communications, and the cost of building them and launching them into space is much smaller than that of large satellites. In addition, the satellite will conduct experiments with satellite communications, at very fast rates and in scenarios where the communication channel is disrupted.
Quantum encryption and recovery of lost data
TAU SAT-3 is the third satellite launched by Tel Aviv University in less than two years and is the result of research and development by the Center for Nanosatellites at the Faculty of Engineering, in collaboration with the University’s Center for Quantum Science and Technology. The satellite carries an optical device that will help perform a unique communication experiment. Prof. Meir Ariel, head of the Center for Nanosatellites at Tel Aviv University, explains: "When the satellite passes over Israel, the device will illuminate, at different wavelengths, so that the telescope at the optical ground station will detect the tiny flash and be able to lock onto it and track it. The satellite will communicate back with Earth simultaneously through optical communications and radio communications. But when the optical device is pointed at the optical ground station, the antenna will point in a different direction. Therefore, a significant part of the information may be lost. The innovation in this project is the ability of the communication systems installed on the satellite and at the ground station to recover the lost information in real time using sophisticated signal processing algorithms developed by Tel Aviv University."
The experiment that will be conducted is important in securing information using quantum encryption, as explained by Prof. Yaron Oz, head of the Center for Quantum Science and Technology at Tel Aviv University and former rector of the university: "The principles of quantum mechanics enable a completely secure encryption method. As soon as a hostile party tries to eavesdrop on the broadcast message, the message dissipates, and the attempted eavesdropping can be known. This is in contrast to encryption using conventional methods, which is exposed to eavesdropping and without knowledge of the existence of an eavesdropper. Indeed, the subject of robust quantum communication is now at the forefront of research. Governments and giant entities around the world are currently in a race to achieve quantum encryption capabilities, especially in light of the ability of quantum computers to crack the encryption algorithms in use today. This is a tremendous effort, both scientifically and technologically and also budgetarily."
Prof. Oz emphasizes that quantum communication is very sensitive to the medium through which it is transmitted, for example through optical fibers or transmission through the atmosphere. Therefore, the researchers hope that using TAU SAT-3, they will be able, for the first time, to communicate between the optical ground station and the satellite. "This will greatly advance us on the path to the scientific goal of demonstrating reliable quantum communication," adds Prof. Oz.
Watch the launch:
There are many Tel Aviv University faculty members who are partners in the satellite project and the ground station, including Prof. Ofer Amrani, who served as Head of Research in the project, Head of the Femto-Nano Research Laboratory, Prof. Haim Suchovsky, as well as doctoral students and students engaged in research and development of satellite systems: Dr. Dolev Bashi, Idan Finkelstein, Michael Zukran, Ofir Cohen, David Greenberg, Barak Levy, Alon Haramati, On Rengingad, Ofir Yaffe, Shahar Morag, Ori Dagan, Elad Sagi and Orly Blumberg.