#speqtre

The Singapore-UK Quantum Collaboration unveiled SpeQtre, launching space-based cybersecurity.

With the help of the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) RAL Space, SpaceX's Transporter-15 mission launched and deployed SpeQtral's SpeQtre CubeSat. On November 28, 2025, the entanglement-based quantum communications demonstrator satellite was launched into sun-synchronous orbit, advancing Singapore-UK space collaboration and quantum communications technologies.

SpeQtre: From Idea to Orbit

SpeQtral designed a space-qualified quantum payload for SpeQtre, a 12-unit CubeSat. A miniaturised entangled-photon pair generator and detector modules are its main component. The satellite is about the size of a large microwave oven.

SpeQtral has travelled space before. The first polarization-entangled photon source and detectors were operated in space by SpooQy-1, a 3U CubeSat project.

SpeQtre can create and transfer entangled photons from space to Earth with better hardware and performance, enabling global quantum key distribution (QKD). SpooQy-1 lessons are directly applied here.

Mission Goals: Secure Space Quantum-Key Distribution

SpeQtre uses SpeQtral's cutting-edge quantum technology to study safe space-based quantum communications. The 12U CubeSat is microwave-sized. The SpeQtral source and detector modules for space-qualified entangled photon pairs are included. Communication of quantum information from a spacecraft this large is technically difficult. This complex technology will be simplified to cut costs and boost accessibility for quantum communication projects. SpeQtre will carefully study quantum communication concerns from space, starting with fundamental component verification and advancing to more complicated protocols.

SpeQtral CEO Chune Yang Lum said the mission took years of collaboration. He stressed how a deliberate approach is being utilised to gradually test each technology component, leading to increasingly ambitious quantum communications capabilities. The SpooQy-1 CubeSat mission showed an entangled photon pair source in orbit. SpeQtral participated. Strategic agreements with Hispasat, Thales Alenia Space, and SES are commercialising quantum communications in space.

RAL Space in the UK helped build and prepare the satellite. RAL Space experts devised a critical device to broadcast SpeQtre's quantum signals to Earth. To prepare the spacecraft for space, they assembled its components and used their comprehensive environmental test facilities. Andy Vick, UK Principal Investigator for SpeQtre and Disruptive Technology Lead at RAL Space, said this is the first satellite using their flexible mission infrastructure. He believes the team's rapid and imaginative strategy has prepared the way for future UK protests and more ambitious missions.

The mission begins commissioning immediately after deployment. Over the next two months, the satellite platform will be commissioned, testing and activating every spacecraft subsystem. SpeQtral and RAL Space will then launch their optical systems and quantum payloads. This sequential approach ensures validation before proceeding to quantum experiments and other out-of-band key delivery technologies. The first quantum communications demonstrations are expected in early 2026.

RAL Space's Chilbolton Observatory in Hampshire, UK, and the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore will use quantum-enabled optical ground stations to undertake these tests. Data will enable commercial quantum communications satellite development and make secure connections between the two locations easier.

Space-based quantum communication addresses essential new cybersecurity challenges. Quantum computing threatens classical encryption. Satellite-based technologies outperform terrestrial fibre networks' distance-limitation. Satellite systems can send quantum-secure communications across large distances without trusted repeater nodes. The SpeQtre mission supports worldwide quantum-secure network activities, including the European Space Agency's INT-UQKD and Q-DESIGN programs.

Partnership Singapore-UK

The collaboration began with a Singapore-UK initiative to strengthen technology cooperation. The Space Technology Development Program of Singapore's national space office, OSTIn, supports it. National Quantum Technologies Program is managed by UK Research and Innovation. This partnership leverages RAL Space's world-class space engineering and SpeQtral's quantum expertise. OSTIn Executive Director Mr. Jonathan Hung said the launch is a turning moment that shows Singapore's leadership in space-based quantum communications and the necessity of strategic international cooperation in creating key technologies.

This initiative could accelerate commercial quantum communications constellation deployment by proving low-cost, small-satellite quantum communications are feasible. For global quantum technology and space-based security collaboration, important precedents are set. SpeQtral, a leader in quantum communications, intends to create and execute global quantum networks to defend global networks from the quantum revolution. RAL Space, the UK's national space laboratory, develops space capabilities by sharing knowledge during space missions.

Free-Space Quantum Communications

Quantum Communications Pioneer SpeQtral's Ground Trials Lead to Secure Satellite Networking

The leading quantum technology company c has been meticulously conducting free-space quantum communications trials throughout Singapore's metropolitan landscape to lay the groundwork for its next satellite mission, SpeQtre, which would enable global quantum-secure communication. These advanced testing with the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) at NUS used the same entangled photon source and receiver gear for orbital quantum key distribution.

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a groundbreaking technology that uses physics to secure data, drives this rapid expansion. QKD is best for sending weak quantum signals like single photons great distances without interference or noise.

Refine Optical Links and Secure Quantum Keys

SpeQtral uses lasers, telescopes, and sensitive single-photon detectors in a complicated system. In the first testing, red and green beacon laser alignment between the “Alice” (transmitter) and “Bob” (receiver) terminals was carefully focused. For the more elusive 780 nm quantum signal, these beacons provided critical reference points. Mastering and maintaining perfect alignment for hundreds of meters, up to 900 meters on the principal connection, was both art and science. Group members refined their methods:

Manual alignment searches were substituted by advanced spiral scan algorithms, boosting terminal optical throughput. Photodiodes and single-photon detectors supplied live input for precise alterations, while wide-field cameras helped with coarse alignment and troubleshooting. Despite these improvements, perfection is sought. Collimation errors, mechanical instability, and the need for correct X-Y-Z adjustments on all lenses kept the crew on its toes. Each problem solved improved the system.

The next critical step was full end-to-end quantum key distribution after the optical link was established. Photon transmission was combined with powerful software for autonomous alignment, real-time polarisation correction, and data processing. Milestones during this time included:

Executing polarisation correction and auto-alignment algorithms that successfully approximated next satellite autonomy. Building strong dark count subtraction and single photon detection algorithms. Secret keys were generated and distilled. Numerous tests provide robustness and adaptability under diverse source and pump powers.

Earth-Space Bridge: Quest for SpeQtre

Urban demonstrations are more than experiments—they connect us to an orbital future and provide invaluable facts that impact the SpeQtre mission. This relationship has various causes:

Miniaturisation: The hardware can be utilised with almost any satellite, including CubeSats with little resources, due to its low SWaP and exceptional miniaturisation. Field operations are more convenient after this. Space Qualification: The systems' design and rigorous testing to withstand space vacuum and rocket launch vibrations make them durable for terrestrial deployment. Autonomy: A satellite must monitor and acquire ground stations without human intervention, and the ground-based system must autonomously align and compensate for disturbances. The city's atmospheric turbulence, temperature fluctuations, and stray light provide a realistic preview of SpeQtre's dynamic conditions in low-Earth orbit, despite the added complexity of high-velocity movement and longer distances. Optical Precision: Precision in centimeter-scale pointing over thousands of kilometres in space is similar to aligning beams to within a fraction of a degree over hundreds of meters on Earth. System Integration: SpeQtral tested hardware, software, and communication protocols in real life to assure the same integrated strategy will succeed in space. Performance Validation: QKD trials are stress tests, not demos, meant to find problems and validate improvements that SpeQtre can quickly include to assure peak performance.

The Quantum Age Begins

SpeQtral's journey from city roofs to space is long and complicated, but each photon measured and secret key distilled brings it closer. With every exterior deployment, the team refines the SpeQtre satellite's tools and understanding to preserve its ground-earned information. These invaluable discoveries are crucial to the satellite's quantum-secure communications mission.

The configuration is also utilised for ground station calibration and testing and ground-based experiments. Daytime experiments and testing with newer quantum light sources are planned. Collaboration with different partners will reveal more about these important tests. SpeQtral remains interested in ground-based free-space communications business usage.

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