First data from quantum satellite "Micius" received

BEIJING - The first batch of data from the world's first quantum satellite was received by Chinese scientists, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said Thursday.

The data was received on Wednesday by the China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station (RSGS), located in Miyun on the outskirts of Beijing, at 11:56 am.

The 202 MB of data was in good quality and was transferred to China's National Space Science Center.

China launched world's first quantum communication satellite on Tuesday. It is nicknamed "Micius," after a fifth century B.C. Chinese philosopher and scientist.

The satellite is designed to establish "hack-proof" quantum communications by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to the ground, and provide insights into the strangest phenomenon in quantum physics -- quantum entanglement.

RSGS is responsible for establishing satellite reception for China's space sciences and has already built a network for near-earth satellite reception.

Apart from the receiving station in Miyun, a station in Kashgar, northwestern China, and one in Sanya, southern China, will also track and receive data from "Micius" in the future.