Beijing: In a late-night launch from the desolate Gobi Desert, China has shot into orbit the world's first quantum satellite in the race to solve one of modern cyber -espionage's greatest conundrums: "hack-proof" communications.

Nicknamed 'Micius', after the ancient Chinese philosopher, the 600-kilogram satellite was fired from a Long March-2D rocket at 1:40am on Tuesday, state media reported.

The transfer of data using quantum communications is considered impenetrable due to a particle phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, with eavesdroppers unable to monitor the transfer without altering the quantum state and thereby being detected. In theory, two parties can communicate in secret by sharing an encryption key encoded in a string of photons.

China's big-spending quantum research initiative, part of Beijing's broader multi-billion dollar strategy to overtake the West in science and space research, is being closely watched in global scientific research and security circles, with groups from Canada, Japan, Singapore and Europe also planning their own quantum space experiments.