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28 Aug 2024
£2.5M facility to demonstrate quantum-secured satellite links and explore laser clean-up of space debris.
Work has begun on a new optical ground station in Scotland that is expected to demonstrate and test quantum-encrypted satellite communications using state-of-the-art optics technology.
The Edinburgh Quantum Communications Hub Optical Ground Station (HOGS), which is being built at Heriot-Watt University’s Research Park, is scheduled to be fully operational later this year.
The university says that the facility will be used to explore sending ultra-secure transmissions to satellites with optical links, and to investigate new ways to search for space debris - and potentially use lasers to remove such debris from orbit.
Comprising a 4.5 meter robotic observatory dome and a 70 cm-wide observatory reflective telescope, HOGS will be able to track the paths of low-Earth orbit satellites and receive quantum signals - with adaptive optics used to further enhance its capability.
Quantum network and space debris
“The facility will feature a plethora of cameras, sensors, and other photonic technologies enabling HOGS to expand how it can be used for both UK-based and international researchers and industry contacts,” announced the institution, which is part of a consortium alongside Bristol, Strathclyde, and York universities.
Led by assistant professor and quantum communications expert Ross Donaldson, HOGS will also establish a direct connection to a new optical fiber network on the Heriot-Watt campus, allowing other researchers to demonstrate optical, quantum, and hybrid communication approaches.
“The new capabilities will support space environmentalism by finding debris, accurately tracking satellites, developing new techniques to find objects that haven't been seen before, and improving [object] identification,” added Heriot-Watt.
“The telescope may also open opportunities for teams to explore new de-orbiting techniques for small space-debris using lasers.”
HOGS is part of the wider Quantum Communications Hub project, one of four thematic efforts on emerging quantum technology that received significant funding in the UK over the past decade.
Aside from the involvement of four universities, it benefits from space engineering expertise provided by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council’s RAL Space Facility.
Other UK researchers with relevant interests in experimental satellite quantum communications will be invited to work onsite using the HOGS telescope to track satellite paths with high precision, says Heriot-Watt, adding that undergraduate and postgraduate students will benefit from the new capability.
Local school children will also be hosted on the site to promote the wider knowledge and understanding of satellite communications and astronomy.
Global connectivity
In a release from Heriot-Watt, Donaldson said: “We want to show that UK scientists have the capabilities to deliver satellite quantum-based communications and have the expertise to do all the required operations.
“Creating secure global connectivity is the goal and we look forward to demonstrating our abilities once the Optical Ground Station is up and running.
“Our high latitude location offers us the chance to track space junk and debris in polar orbits for long periods of time, which may allow us to identify smaller objects.”
University of York professor Tim Spiller, who is also the director of the Quantum Communications Hub, added: “Satellites will form an essential part of future worldwide quantum communications, and in-orbit demonstrator missions are essential in proving the UK’s capabilities as a leader in secure quantum communications.
“The ground-based receiver is clearly a key element of any mission, and we look forward to HOGS becoming operational at Heriot-Watt University.”
UK's new quantum hubs
News of the HOGS ground-breaking comes a month after Heriot-Watt said it would also head up a new quantum research effort known as the Integrated Quantum Networks (IQN) Hub, under the leadership of Professor Gerald Buller.
It is one of five new quantum technology hubs announced by the UK government as part of the latest £160 million investment (including £54 million of in-kind support from industry) to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of the potentially revolutionary technologies following the initial decade-long effort.
Aside from IQN, the new hubs are focused on biomedical diagnostics (Q-BIOMED); sensors, imaging, and timing (QuSIT); quantum computing (QCI3); and quantum-enabled position, navigation, and timing applications (QEPNT).
The IQN hub is set to undertake research towards the ultimate goal of a ‘quantum internet’, with globally interlinked quantum networks connecting multiple quantum computers to produce enormous computational power.
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