A satellite ground station facility at Errol Aerodrome, a former RAF airfield between Dundee and Perth, has been chosen for a new optical ground station (OGS) to test satellite quantum secure communications.
These could overcome the threat of cyber attacks, enabling secure transmission of information, as current methods using terrestrial fibre links are limited by the distance each quantum signal can travel. Using satellites will allow quantum communications to be sent securely all over the world.
The new research facility will be developed as part of the Quantum Communications Hub project, funded through the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme. It will also support future research and development (R&D) missions with international partners.
The Errol OGS project is a joint venture between researchers at Heriot-Watt University and Dundee Satellite Station, formerly the University of Dundee Satellite Receiving Station, which is a commercial station offering services to the UK and international space sector.
The site on the bank of the river Tay was selected by the research team following an internal competitive process. This utilised extensive modelling of key variables - light pollution, cloud cover, sight lines - for all proposed sites, to identify the optimal site with potential for a high rate of encryption key generation from the satellite communications.
The hub’s OGS will use a reflective 70cm telescope, to track the low-Earth orbit satellite path with high precision. Both OGS and the satellite will employ laser beacons to accurately point towards each other. Once they are precisely aligned, the quantum communications will commence.
Once operational, the OGS will be used by researchers directly involved in the hub’s satellite R&D programme of work and based at multiple partner institutions – University of Bristol, Heriot-Watt University, Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, University of Strathclyde, and University of York.
The hub’s in-orbit demonstrator mission is one of three complementary quantum communications research projects currently undertaken by UK organisations; the other two being the UK/Singapore bilateral mission (project Speqtre) and the ROKS mission.
Dr Ross Donaldson from Heriot-Watt University led the site proposal.
He said: “The addition of the OGS will place Heriot-Watt University at the forefront of satellite quantum communications research, enabling engagement with future missions from national and international teams.”
Dundee Satellite Station’s technical director Dr Paul Crawford said: “Dundee is a unique ground station in that we developed and operated in an academic environment for over 40 years and actually designed and built our own systems, so we are natural partners for any R&D focused projects such as this.”
Dr Anke Davis, joint head of quantum technologies at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, added: “Funding for this important piece of research infrastructure will not only benefit the Quantum Communications Hub community, but also other researchers in the field.
“Investments into equipment such as this allow researchers to extend the reach of quantum communications from terrestrial to space applications and is an integral part of the Quantum Communications Hub’s mission with exciting future projects to launch as a result.”
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