Voyager Technologies & Infleqtion partner to integrate atomic clocks into space stations

Space and defence technology company Voyager Technologies has announced a strategic partnership with Infleqtion. As part of the partnership, Infleqtion will integrate its Ticker Quantum atomic clock aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and the successor space station Starlab. 

The addition of an alternate high-precision, secure time source in space is expected to provide impact to commercial and U.S. national security missions. These include the new proposed U.S. missile defence system, Golden Dome, and will also enable autonomous spacecraft coordination and secure communications across constellations. The goal of the partnership will be to advance dual-use quantum technology in low-Earth orbit and beyond. 

This is not Infleqtion’s first foray into space technologies; the company designed, developed, and tested the Physics Package Assembly for NASA’s Cold Atom Lab, which was launched aboard the ISS in 2018 and is still operating today. Infleqtion is also currently building the Atomic Physics Package Sensor Head, electronics, and laser/optical systems for the JPL Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPf), slated to launch in 2028.   

“We’re bringing quantum utility out of the lab and into operational theater,” said Dylan Taylor, Chairman & CEO, Voyager Technologies. “We’re unlocking a completely new class of dual-use capabilities with quantum timing, sensing and computing in space, strengthening the backbone of next-generation space infrastructure and ensuring mission continuity in increasingly contested domains.”

“In orbit, precision timing and sensing can improve navigation, enable new kinds of communication and make our critical infrastructure more resilient. We expect that our partnership with Voyager will demonstrate how quantum timing and sensing can enhance the reliability, scalability and security of space infrastructure, delivering real impact in space.”