Australia to launch optical atomic clock technology into space

QuantX personnel conducting environmental testing on the optical frequency comb, which is a key optical atomic clock technology that will be launched into space for testing. (QuantX Labs)

Adelaide-based QuantX Labs plans to launch a key subsystem of its optical atomic clock into space to enhance position, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities.

A spokesperson for QuantX Labs told Janes on 15 April that this subsystem called the optical frequency comb is a critical component of all atomic clocks that the company is developing including those for military customers.

Once launched into space, the optical frequency comb can be utilised for advanced PNT, deep space communications, and synchronised Earth observations, QuantX Labs announced in a media release on 15 April.

This system will be launched in partnership with French space logistics company Exotrail. The optical frequency comb will be hosted in an Exotrail Spacevan orbital transfer vehicle that will be launched aboard a SpaceX rocket scheduled to depart in December, QuantX Labs said.

The spokesperson said that optical frequency comb enables military users to use QuantX Labs' atomic clocks with conventional electronics.

QuantX Labs has been pursuing a “step-change in clock technology”, the spokesperson said. “Instead of interacting with atoms using electronic frequencies, we are making use of lasers to excite fundamental optical oscillations of the atoms. This change has the potential to deliver much higher clock performance in a smaller and more robust package.

“However, to use these optical signals to synchronise conventional electronics we need to convert the optical signals into electronic signals. The optical frequency comb is … [a] tool that allows us to do this conversion with very high fidelity,” the spokesperson added.