“Unhackable from Orbit!” – How a 4 kg CubeSat Just Kicked‑Off the Race for a Global Quantum‑Secure Internet
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched the 4 kg QUICK³ CubeSat into a 550 km sun-synchronous orbit from Vandenberg at 07:18 UTC on June 23, 2025. The satellite carries a single-photon source and integrated interferometers to test quantum key distribution and the Born-rule in microgravity, with planned quantum-encrypted downlinks to Munich and Jena. Payload separation was confirmed nine minutes after launch.