BEIJING — China launched the world’s first quantum communications satellite from the Gobi Desert Tuesday, a major step in the country’s bid to be at the forefront of quantum research, which could lead to new, completely secure methods of transmitting information.

Researchers hope to use the satellite to beam communications from space to earth with quantum technology, which employs photons, or particles of light. That type of communication could prove to be the most secure in the world, invulnerable to hacking.

The satellite is expected to circle the earth every 90 minutes after entering orbit at an altitude of about 310 miles, according to a report by Xinhua, the state news agency.

An article about the Chinese program that the journal Nature published in July said that any tinkering with quantum communications would be detectable, which is why the method is secure.

New York Times