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Satellites, Space Debris, and the Quantum Internet: Why We Need a New Conversation About the Infrastructure Above Our Heads
Back in 2024, I was at VivaTech in Paris. One of the exhibits was a playful‑looking game: you stood in front of a screen and physically ducked and dodged incoming pieces of space debris. It looked whimsical – almost cartoonish -but the underlying message was anything but. Space is no longer an empty canvas; it is a growing scrapyard of defunct satellites, fragments, collision remnants and high‑velocity metal shards. Serious junk. Any one of these can disable or destroy a communication satellite or indeed, a suite of satellites.
When I raised this even as recently as this year, several waved it away with a breezy, “We have atomic clocks.” Yes — atomic clocks and terrestrial timing networks can provide short‑term resilience. But they are not a long‑term substitute for satellite‑based timing, navigation, and communication. Even the UK government recognises this: in 2024 it announced a £155 million programme to diversify national timing infrastructure and reduce dependence on vulnerable GNSS signals.
So it was good this week to see folks from the European Space Agency at the Scenarios programme that I was facilitating. Space is a HUGE area that should be in the forefront of policymakers minds.
As we move into the quantum era, the stakes rise further. The question is no longer just: How do we protect satellites? It is also: Are we paying enough attention to satellites as the backbone of the future quantum internet?
Quantum communication via satellites is not a niche research topic. It is the most promising route to a global quantum network. By transmitting entangled photons through free space rather than optical fibre, satellites avoid terrestrial loss limits and enable secure quantum key distribution (QKD) across continents. They are also the only realistic way to distribute entanglement globally – a prerequisite for the quantum internet.
And this is where the conversation needs to widen. Space debris is not just a threat to GPS or weather forecasting. It is a threat to the emerging quantum communication layer that will underpin secure global infrastructure for decades to come.
Why This Conversation Matters Now
Space debris is not just a threat to GPS. It is a threat to the emerging quantum communication layer that will underpin global security, finance, science, and infrastructure for decades to come.
We cannot afford to treat satellites as background scenery. They are becoming the quantum backbone of the 21st century.
And yet, public awareness is low. Policy conversations are fragmented. Investment is uneven. And the risks – from debris to cyber‑physical interference – are rising.
If we want a resilient quantum future, we need a broader conversation today. One that includes technologists, policymakers, scientists, investors and the public.
Because the quantum internet will not be built underground. It will be built above our heads, in an orbital environment that is becoming more crowded, more contested, and more fragile every year.
LINK to the document I wrote about the quantum physics part.
