PocketQube

A PocketQube is a type of miniaturized satellite for space research that usually has a size of 5 cm cubed (one eighth the volume of a CubeSat), has a mass of no more than 250 grams, and typically uses commercial off-the-shelf components for its electronics.

Not to be confused with Pocket Cube.
PocketQube
Specifications
Launch mass250g
Dimensions5 × 5 × 5 cm (1p)
Production
Launched
  • Total: 47
  • Orbital: 38 + 6 failed
  • Suborbital: 2 + 1 failed

Beginning in 2009,[1] Morehead State University (MSU) and Kentucky Space developed the PocketQube specifications to help universities worldwide to perform space science and exploration. While the bulk of development comes from academia, several companies build PocketQubes, such as Fossa Systems and Alba Orbital.[2] PocketQube projects have even been the subject of Kickstarter campaigns.[3][4] The PocketQube format is also popular with amateur radio satellite builders.[5]

Design

The PocketQube specification accomplishes several high-level goals. Simplification makes it possible to design and produce a workable satellite at low cost. Encapsulation of the launcher-payload interface takes away the prohibitive amount of managerial work previously required for mating a piggyback satellite with its launcher. Unification among payloads and launchers enables quick exchanges of payloads and utilization of launch opportunities on short notice. PocketQube is similar to CubeSat in this regard.

The standard was first proposed by Professor Bob Twiggs of Morehead State University, and the intention was for a satellite which could fit in a pocket, hence the name PocketQube.

Workshops

The first US workshop was held at NASA Ames and at Cape Canaveral in April 2014. There was a three-year gap until the next PocketQube workshop was held at TU Delft in The Netherlands in March 2017. The third workshop took place also at TU Delft in March 2018, with 22 presentations and 70 attendees. This is now an annual event for the PocketQube development community.

Launched

Listed in ascending order by launch date.

Name Type Organisation Mission Launch Date (UTC) Rocket COSPAR ID Status Broker Decay date
Beakersat-1[lower-alpha 1] 2.5p Morehead State University, Sonoma State University Teaching Tool 2013-11-21, 07:11 Dnepr 2013-066X No longer in orbit GAUSS Decay: 2019-02-13[6]
$50Sat (Eagle-2) 1.5p Amateur Group Amateur Mission 2013-066W No longer in orbit GAUSS Decay: 2018-05-18[7]
QubeScout-S1 2.5p University of Maryland, Baltimore County Sensor/dynamic attitude experiments 2013-066AD In orbit GAUSS
WREN 1p Stadoko UG Tech demo, Camera SSTV, 3 Axis Reaction Wheel and pp Thrusters 2013-066V In orbit GAUSS
SMOG-P 1p Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary Measurement of the radio spectrum in the UHF TV band 2019-12-6,

08:18

 Electron 2019-084J No longer in orbit Alba Orbital Decay: 2020-09-28[8]
ATL-1 2p Advanced Technology of Laser Test a new thermal isolation material in space 2019-084G No longer in orbit Alba Orbital Decay: 2020-10-9[9]
FossaSat-1 1p Fossa Systems LoRa Demonstration & Deployable solar panels. 2019-084F No longer in orbit Alba Orbital Decay: 2020-10-28[10]
Noor 1a

(Unicorn-2b)

 3p Stara Space Experimental 2019-084D No longer in orbit Alba Orbital Decay: 2020-12-29[11]
Noor 1b

(Unicorn-2c)

 3p Stara Space Experimental 2019-084E No longer in orbit Alba Orbital Decay: 2020-04-07[12]
TRSI 1p TRSI Club Amateur, testing novel receiver 2019-084H No longer in orbit Alba Orbital Decay: 2020-10-13[13]
DIY-1 / ARDUIQUBE 1p DIYSATELLITE Technology Demonstrator 2021-3-22, 06:07:12 Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat 2021-022AH In orbit GAUSS
STECCO 6p School of Aerospace Engineering of Sapienza University of Rome Laser Ranging 2021-022AG In orbit GAUSS
SMOG-1 1p Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary Measurement of the radio spectrum in the UHF TV band 2012-022AJ In orbit GAUSS
GENESIS N 1.5p AMSAT EA Amateur radio / Thruster Experiment 2021-9-3, 01:59 Firefly Alpha / SUV N/A Launch failure FOSSA System / Libre Space Foundation Decay (suborbital): 2021-9-3[lower-alpha 2]
GENESIS L 1.5p AMSAT EA Amateur radio / Thruster Experiment Launch failure
QUBIK 1 1p Libre Space Foundation Technology Demonstrator Launch failure
QUBIK 2 1p Libre Space Foundation Technology Demonstrator Launch failure
FOSSASAT 1b 1p Fossa Systems LoRa Demonstration Launch failure
FOSSASAT 2 2p Fossa Systems LoRa Demonstration Launch failure
Unicorn 1 2p Alba Orbital UG Inter-sat link 2022-1-13, 15:25 Falcon 9 TBD In orbit Alba Orbital / Exolaunch
Unicorn 2A 3p Alba Orbital UG Earth observation In orbit
Unicorn 2D 3p Alba Orbital UG Earth observation In orbit
Unicorn 2E 3p Alba Orbital UG Earth observation In orbit
Unicorn 2TA1 1p Carnegie Mellon University Earth observation In orbit
Delfi-PQ 3p Delft University of Technology IoT In orbit
Hades 1.5p AMSAT EA Amateur radio In orbit
EASAT-2 1.5p AMSAT EA Amateur radio / Science In orbit
Sattla-2A 2p Ariel University Education In orbit
Sattla-2B 2p Ariel University Education In orbit
PION-BR1 1p PION Labs Technology Demonstrator In orbit
MDQube-SAT1 2p Innova Space Technology Demonstrator In orbit
Grizu-263a 1p Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University Technology Demonstrator In orbit
Challenger 3p Quub / Intuidex Technology Demonstrator In orbit FOSSA Systems / Exolaunch
SanoSat-1 1p Orion Space Technology Demonstrator In orbit
WISeSAT-1 (FOSSASAT-2E1) 2p WISeKey IoT In orbit
WISeSAT-2 (FOSSASAT-2E2) 2p WISeKey IoT In orbit
CShark Pilot 1 (FOSSASAT-2E3) 2p CShark IoT In orbit
Laika (FOSSASAT-2E4) 2p Porkchop Technology Demonstrator In orbit
FOSSASAT-2E5 2p FOSSA Systems IoT In orbit
FOSSASAT-2E6 2p FOSSA Systems IoT In orbit
Unicorn-2F 3p Alba Orbital UG Earth observation 2022-2-2, 22:49 Electron TBD In orbit Alba Orbital
TRSI-2 1p TRSI Club Amatuer In orbit
TRSI-3 1p TRSI Club Amatuer In orbit
MyRadar-1 1p ACME AtronOmatic, LLC (MyRadar) Experimental In orbit
List of Suborbital PocketQubes
Name Type Organisation Mission Launch Date (UTC) Rocket Outcome
Astria 5p BCIT Satellite Launch Program Test structural feasibility at 30,000 feet for new design 2018-06-21[14] UBC Black Tusk[15] Launch failure[16]
TQube 1p Amateur Group Insulation testing and recording of structural dynamics 2019-10-11, 18:37 Neutron Success
MDQube SAT-1 prototype 1.25p Innova Space Technology demonstration 2021-06-11 Aventura I-e2 Success

In development
Name Type Organisation Mission Launch Date (UTC) Rocket Broker Status Remarks
OzQube-1 1p Picosat Systems Earth Observation TBC TBC TBC In development Team Interview
Discovery 1a 1p Mini-Cubes, LLC Camera / Photo Sat TBC TBC TBC In development Windform XT based PocketQube testing of the shelf components for space use
UoMBSat1 1p University of Malta + University of Birmingham Technology Demonstrator + Ionospheric Sounder TBC TBC TBC In development ASTREA Website @ UoM

SERENE Website @ UoB

APRS PocketQube 1p National Chiao-Tung University APRS PocketQube for Moving Objects Tracking TBC TBC TBC In development
UBO 1p Satellite Applications Catapult Outreach TBC TBC TBC In Development http://buildubo.co.uk/build/
Myansat-1 1p Independent Outreach TBC TBC TBC In Development https://web.archive.org/web/20190115020853/http://myansat.com/
TFTQube 1p The Flame Trench Amateur TBC TBC TBC In Development https://theflametrench.com/flagship/
TBC TBC University of Zacatecas STEM TBC TBC TBC In Development https://www.research"ate.net/project/Design-and-Implementation-of-a-PocketQube-system-for-educative-purposes
LibertyQube-1 1p Liberty Life LLc Experimental TBC TBC TBC In Development https://www.libertylife-llc.com/
SatDuino 1p Technical School N° 5 of Mar Del Plata Education TBC TBC TBC In Development https://satduinot5t1.wixsite.com/satduino
BYqube-1 1p Brigham Young University Education TBC TBC TBC In Development
Pycubed-1 1p Stanford University Education TBD Alba Orbital In Development
CMU PocketQube 1p Carnegie Mellon University TBD Alba Orbital In Development
DynOSSAT-EDU 1p BHDynamics TBC TBC TBC In Development
BerretaSat-1 1p Aerozono Space Technologies (Argentina) Earth Observation/ Technology Demonstrator TBC TBC TBC In Development
Canary Hatchling 1p Care Weather Technologies Constellation Pathfinder February 2021 Falcon 9 Fossa Systems In

Development
BeliefSat-1 2p K. J. Somaiya Institute of Engineering and Information Technology Educational mission demonstrating PocketQube technologies TBC TBC TBC In Development https://github.com/NewLeapKjsieit/BeliefSat
MRC-100 (formerly SMOG-2) 3p Budapest University of Technology and Economics Radio spectrum measurement, technology demonstration Q4 2022 Falcon 9 Alba Orbital In development http://gnd.bme.hu/smog
GENESIS-G 1.5p AMSAT EA Amateur radio / Thruster experiment TBC TBC TBC In development
GENESIS-J 1.5p AMSAT EA Amateur radio / Thruster experiment TBC TBC TBC In development
URESAT 1.5p AMSAT EA / URE Amateur radio Q3 2022 Falcon 9 Alba Orbital In development

PocketQube vs PocketQub

The PocketQube standard originally started as PocketQub.[17] This was changed in 2012 by Professor Bob Twiggs of Morehead State University. The standard is now referred to as PocketQube.

Launch

As of December 2019, the only launch brokers capable of providing launch integration for PocketQube satellites are Fossa Systems, Libre Space Foundation, Alba Orbital and GAUSS Srl.

See also

Notes
  1. Also known as T-LogoQube, MagPocketQube, Eagle-1
  2. Intended to reach orbit. Launch vehicle failed while under first stage flight on a suborbital trajectory.

References
  1. Twiggs, Bob. "Making it small" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  2. Alba Orbital
  3. "Kickstarter". Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  4. "Kickstarter, Wired UK". Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  5. "AMSAT UK". Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  6. "Technical details for satellite BEAKERSAT 1". N2YO.com - Real Time Satellite Tracking and Predictions. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  7. "SATVIEW - EAGLE 2 - Norad 39436U - Tracking satellites and Spacejunk in Real time". Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  8. "SMOG-P - NORAD 44832 - 3D Online Satellite Tracking". www.satflare.com. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  9. "ATL-1 - NORAD 44830".
  10. "FOSSASAT-1 - NORAD 44829 - 3D Online Satellite Tracking".
  11. "NOOR 1A".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "NOOR 1B - NORAD 44828 - 3D Online Satellite Tracking". www.satflare.com. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  13. "TRSI - NORAD 44831 - 3D Online Satellite Tracking".
  14. "UBC Rocket BCIT launch".
  15. "UBC Rocket".
  16. "Black Tusk Launch".
  17. "Standard". Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
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