Terrestrial campaign towards space-to-ground quantum communications with a space-qualified entangled photon-pair system
Abstract
Realizing a global quantum internet relies on the deployment of robust satellite-based entanglement distribution links. While pioneering demonstrations have established the feasibility of such links, the transition to operational infrastructure demands the validation of robust, integrated space-to-ground architectures. Here, we report on a free-space Quantum Key Distribution experiment conducted over a 1.8 km free-space link using an engineering model of the quantum payload onboard the SpeQtre satellite and the Abu Dhabi Quantum Optical Ground Station. By implementing a BBM92 protocol with polarization-entangled photons, a mean secret key rate of 7.57 kbps with a mean quantum bit error rate of 4.78%+-0.24% was produced. The deployed system featured spectral and spatial filtering approaches identical to those in the space segment, demonstrating their operation in a terrestrial nighttime free-space channel. These results confirm the operational compatibility between the ground and space segments, establishing a critical performance baseline for the SpeQtre mission and future space-based, large-scale quantum networks.
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BibTeX
@misc{santis2026terrestrial,
title = {{Terrestrial campaign towards space-to-ground quantum communications with a space-qualified entangled photon-pair system}},
author = {Gianluca De Santis and Jia Boon Chin and Srihari Sivasankaran and Konstantin Kravtsov and Chin Chean Lim and Aitor Villar and Robert Bedington and Sana Amairi-Pyka and Eleni Diamanti and Alexander Ling and James A. Grieve},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2605.19689},
eprint = {2605.19689},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.19689},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Terrestrial campaign towards space-to-ground quantum communications with a space-qualified entangled photon-pair system
AU - Gianluca De Santis
AU - Jia Boon Chin
AU - Srihari Sivasankaran
AU - Konstantin Kravtsov
AU - Chin Chean Lim
AU - Aitor Villar
AU - Robert Bedington
AU - Sana Amairi-Pyka
AU - Eleni Diamanti
AU - Alexander Ling
AU - James A. Grieve
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2605.19689
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.19689
AB - Realizing a global quantum internet relies on the deployment of robust satellite-based entanglement distribution links. While pioneering demonstrations have established the feasibility of such links, the transition to operational infrastructure demands the validation of robust, integrated space-to-ground architectures. Here, we report on a free-space Quantum Key Distribution experiment conducted over a 1.8 km free-space link using an engineering model of the quantum payload onboard the SpeQtre satellite and the Abu Dhabi Quantum Optical Ground Station. By implementing a BBM92 protocol with polarization-entangled photons, a mean secret key rate of 7.57 kbps with a mean quantum bit error rate of 4.78%+-0.24% was produced. The deployed system featured spectral and spatial filtering approaches identical to those in the space segment, demonstrating their operation in a terrestrial nighttime free-space channel. These results confirm the operational compatibility between the ground and space segments, establishing a critical performance baseline for the SpeQtre mission and future space-based, large-scale quantum networks.
ER -