ANU Quantum Optical Ground Station launches

06-12-2023

Schmidt, Barr, and Bennet cutting the ribbon

Left to right: Former ANU Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Brian Schmidt AC; ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr; ANU Optical Communications Team Lead and ANU InSpace Mission Specialist, Associate Professor Francis Bennet

Congratulations to the ANU Optical Communications Team, led by Associate Professor Francis Bennet, on the launch of the ANU Quantum Optical Ground Station on 6 December.

The ANU Quantum Optical Ground Station was opened by The Australian National University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Brian Schmidt AC, and the ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr.

The ANU Quantum Optical Ground Station is supported by funding from the ACT Government, with additional support from the Australian Space Agency, CSIRO, Tesat-Spacecom, and the ANU Institute for Space | InSpace.

This project was one of ANU InSpace's first investments, so it’s satisfying to see it come to fruition. “It’s exciting to see this new technology, which will play a pivotal role in major future space missions, come online after five years in the making,” says ANU InSpace Director, Professor Anna Moore. “We will also be able to support our local and global space sector’s ambitions more broadly in high-speed secure communication – a critical capability that affects our daily lives. The ANU Quantum Optical Ground Station has been designed from the bottom up to be collaborative, leveraging state of the art R&D-based infrastructure to accelerate and translate next generation quantum technology with our industry partners.”