21 November 2013: Dnepr & UniSat-5 Deploy the World’s First Four 5 cm PocketQubes ($50SAT, WREN, BeakerSat-1, QubeScout-S1)
Four years after Prof. Bob Twiggs proposed the 50×50×50 mm (1P) standard in 2009, UniSat-5 launched on Dnepr and ejected the first four PocketQubes into LEO.
On 21 November 2013 at 07:10 UTC, an ISC Kosmotras Dnepr rocket lifted off from the Yasny launch base carrying 32 spacecraft—including the 1U FUNcube-1 (AO-73), TU Delft’s 3U Delfi-n3Xt, and the Italian microsatellite mothership UniSat-5 built by GAUSS Srl.
Once in a ~630 km Sun-synchronous orbit, UniSat-5’s spring-loaded tubular MRFOD dispensers released the world’s first four PocketQube picosatellites: $50SAT (Eagle-2, MO-76, 1.5P, built by Prof. Bob Twiggs with radio amateurs Howie DeFelice AB2S, Stuart Robinson GW7HPW, and Michael Kirkhart KD8QBA, which transmitted UHF telemetry on 437.505 MHz for nearly 21 months), Stadoko UG’s 1P WREN, Morehead State / Sonoma State’s 2.5P BeakerSat-1 (Eagle-1 / T-LogoQube), and the University of Maryland’s 2.5P QubeScout-S1.
The successful operational life of $50SAT—built primarily from commercial off-the-shelf electronics and FR-4 PCBs—proved that a 5 cm cube could close a reliable LEO UHF link and survive thousands of eclipse thermal cycles.
Published Proceedings, Open-Access Papers & Primary Dossiers
CELESTRAK SATCAT & TELEMETRY RECORD
Verified Spacecraft Key Facts & Orbital Dossier
| Spacecraft | Class | Operator / Country | Launch & Vehicle | NORAD / COSPAR | Orbit & RF Downlink | Catalog Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$50SAT | 1.5P | Morehead State Univ. US | Dnepr · UniSat-5 (MRFOD) | NORAD 39436 2013-066W | UHF | Decayed |
WREN | 1P | STADOKO UG DE | Dnepr · UniSat-5 (MRFOD) | NORAD 39435 2013-066V | 437.405 MHz (UHF) | Inactive (in orbit) |
Beakersat-1 | 2.5P | Morehead State Univ. / Sonoma State Univ. US | Dnepr · UniSat-5 (MRFOD) | NORAD 39437 2013-066X | Decayed | |
QubeScout-S1 | 2.5P | Univ. of Maryland US | Dnepr · UniSat-5 (MRFOD) | NORAD 39443 2013-066AD | Decayed | |
FUNcube-1 (AO-73) | 1U | AMSAT-UK / AMSAT-NL GB | Dnepr · ISIPOD | NORAD 39444 2013-066AE | 145.935 MHz (VHF/UHF) | Active |
Catalogued Mission Summaries & Flight Notes
- $50SAT (1.5P, 2013):
- Amateur-radio demonstrator built by Morehead State University and three radio amateurs from parts costing less than US$250, emblematic of the class’s low-cost philosophy.
- WREN (1P, 2013):
- First-generation 1P with a camera, gyroscope, magnetometer, momentum wheels and pulsed-plasma thrusters, intended to broadcast SSTV images. In orbit, non-operational (CelesTrak SATCAT operational status '-').
- FUNcube-1 (AO-73) (1U, 2013):
- Landmark 1U educational and amateur radio CubeSat launched on the November 2013 Dnepr cluster; carries a 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon on 145.935 MHz and an inverting U/V linear transponder still active after >12 years. In orbit; 145.935 MHz BPSK telemetry beacon and U/V transponder active per AMSAT-UK Data Warehouse and SatNOGS DB.