{"id":572248,"date":"2026-03-31T05:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/572248\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:18:09","slug":"quebec-based-startup-sbquantum-reaches-orbit-with-diamond-based-quantum-sensors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/572248\/","title":{"rendered":"Quebec-based startup SBQuantum reaches orbit with diamond-based quantum sensors"},"content":{"rendered":"

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SBQuantum\u2019s diamond-based magnetometers make use of tiny impurities deliberately engineered into synthetic diamond crystals.ALEXIS AUBIN\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

A Canadian company\u2019s quest to map Earth\u2019s magnetic field using quantum sensors made of diamond has taken a big step forward with the first placement of its technology into space.<\/p>\n

On Monday, SBQuantum, a startup based in Sherbrooke, announced the launch of Diamond Polaris 1, a small satellite that will test the company\u2019s novel approach to magnetic detection. <\/p>\n

The satellite was carried into orbit on a SpaceX rocket that lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Los Angeles at 4:02 a.m. local time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting,\u201d David Roy-Guay, the company\u2019s co-founder and chief executive, said shortly after watching a livestream of the launch with about 30 of his staff. \u201cEven though it\u2019s early in the morning, everybody is cheering.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The launch is part of a larger initiative called the MagQuest Challenge, sponsored by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which operates under the U.S. Department of Defence.<\/p>\n

SBQuantum was one of three finalists chosen to test their magnetic sensing technology in space. Now in its final phase, the goal of the six-year global competition is to explore new approaches to maintaining a reference known as the World Magnetic Model.<\/p>\n

The model provides a global standard for Earth\u2019s magnetic field as an aid to navigation, but it must be continually updated because the field shifts and changes over time.<\/p>\n

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David Roy-Guay, CEO and co-founder of SBQuantum, at the company\u2019s Sherbrooke, Quebec, office on Aug. 28, 2025.ALEXIS AUBIN\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Currently, tracking of the magnetic field is accomplished by a group of three European satellites dubbed Swarm that were launched in 2013.<\/p>\n

SBQuantum, in partnership with aerospace company Spire Global Inc., successfully passed earlier hurdles in the MagQuest Challenge to earn a trip to space for its diamond-based magnetometers. Detectors built by two other finalists, one based in Colorado and one in Britain, were launched by the same rocket aboard separate satellites.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Mike Paniccia, who is program manager for the World Magnetic Model, said, \u201cThis launch is the moment where all of that ingenuity meets the ultimate test.\u201d <\/p>\n

The technology developed by SBQuantum makes use of tiny impurities deliberately engineered into synthetic diamond crystals. Pure diamond is composed entirely of carbon atoms in a repeating three-dimensional lattice. A flaw is created wherever a carbon atom is replaced with an atom of nitrogen. Electrons associated with the atoms around the flaw move in a telltale pattern that is highly sensitive to an external magnetic field. This pattern can be checked with a laser beam.<\/p>\n

The result is a compact device for measuring a magnetic field that is more accurate and also is smaller and easier to fly in space than current technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is especially important if you want to build something like a world magnetic map for navigation,\u201d Mr. Roy-Guay said.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Roy-Guay holds up one of SBQuantum’s diamond magnetometers.ALEXIS AUBIN\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

SBQuantum was founded in 2017 and has been developing its technology for a range of potential applications including navigation, mining and maritime surveillance.<\/p>\n

The company has also worked with universities and the National Research Council Canada as part of a federal program aimed at fostering the growing field of quantum sensors.<\/p>\n

Khabat Heshami, a physicist and research officer who is leading the NRC\u2019s part of the collaboration, said SBQuantum\u2019s magnetometer is a good example of the kinds of possibilities that are emerging from the effort to leverage quantum effects for new uses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite exciting to just play with these ideas and then see if it leads to an application, and potentially an improvement in the sensitivity of these devices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Roy-Guay said seeing whether SBQuantum\u2019s magnetometers are performing as expected in space would take a few more days.<\/p>\n

The performance of hardware built by all three finalists in the challenge is set to be evaluated by an expert panel later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: SBQuantum\u2019s diamond-based magnetometers make use of tiny impurities deliberately engineered into synthetic diamond…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":572249,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[49,48,66,306],"class_list":["post-572248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}