Report on Satellite Quantum Communications

The study will start by providing an introduction to space based quantum communications and its high level implications for technology and fundamental research. The more interesting projects and proposals will be discussed to gauge the level of the international interest in this area. This will be extended by discussing experiments and protocols that are not widely considered in current proposals but are relevant to the future quantum communication networks such as repeater networks, memory compatible QKD, and point-to-point CV protocols. The study will then go on to discuss how these experiments could be performed using the relatively lower cost and accessible CubeSat platform and what orbits would be of interest. To conclude the study, the expertise landscape in Australia will be summarised with a discussion on how Australian researches can contribute to local projects or to larger international collaborations.