PocketQube

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.

First proposed in 2009 as a solution to the increasing costs of CubeSat launches to low Earth orbit. 13 PocketQubes have reached orbit as of September 2021. An additional 6 PocketQubes were destroyed on launch on a Fossa Systems / Libre Space brokered launch on the Firefly Alpha launch vehicle, becoming the first pocketqubes to fail to make it into orbit.

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.

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	ACME AtronOmatic, LLC (MyRadar)	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	Technology Demonstrator	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	Technology Demonstrator				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

List of Suborbital PocketQubes

Name	Type	Organisation	Mission	Launch Date (UTC)	Rocket	Outcome
Astria	4p	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

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.

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.

• CubeSat

• NASA Article on PocketQubes
• Pocketqube Builders
• PocketQube Developer Resources