How Spacetech Is Soaring In Singapore

Many homegrown startups are looking to build cube satellites and laser quantum communication systems.

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Singapore may not yet have its own Elon Musk or JeffBezos, but there are more than 30 companies employing 1,000 people in the space industry, according to the Economic Development Board (EDB). Of these, at least 10 startups have been formed in the past five years. These startups are engaged in innovative space technologies such as small satellite thruster systems and space-based laser communications, said Lim Tse Yong, EDB’s director of capital goods. More than five foreign space companies have established their presence in Singapore over the past five years.

One homegrown contender which was spun off from NUS is SpeQtral. The startup is commercialising space-based quantum communication technologies that will reportedly expose any attempt to eavesdrop, providing a safer way to transmit information.

“SpeQtral is a spin-out from CQT based on research and systems developed over the last couple of decades. We decided the time was right to commercialize the technology because it has been proven on orbit, including the recent SpooQy-1 3U cubesat launched earlier this year,” said Chune Yang Lum, founder and CEO of SpeQtral. PKE, which is currently being used by networks for data and communications transfer, can be easily cracked compared to QKD, Lum added.