13 January 2022: SpaceX Transporter-3 Deploys 21 PocketQubes Across Nine Countries Including TU Delft’s 3P Delfi-PQ & Grizu-263A
Launched on 13 January 2022 from Cape Canaveral SLC-40, Falcon 9 Transporter-3 injected 21 PocketQubes across nine countries into a 525 km Sun-synchronous orbit.
On 13 January 2022, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Transporter-3 mission inaugurated the modern era of multi-manifest PocketQube rideshares by placing 21 picosatellites across nine countries (Netherlands, Türkiye, Spain, Nepal, Argentina, Israel, United Kingdom, United States, and Italy) via Alba Clusters 3/4 and Fossa/ION deployments into a 525 km, 97.5° Sun-synchronous orbit.
Key engineering demonstrators included TU Delft’s 3P Delfi-PQ (testing the corePQ9 modular backplane and a MEMS micro-resistojet thruster), Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University’s 1P Grizu-263A (237 g, which operated for 628 days until atmospheric re-entry on 3 October 2023), Spain’s EASAT-2 (SO-114) and HADES (SO-115) 1.5P V/U repeaters, Nepal’s first picosatellite SanoSat-1 (1P, Orion Space), Argentina’s MDQube-SAT1 (2P), and Alba Orbital’s Unicorn-1 and Unicorn-2A/2D/2E.
With the cohort launching into an identical 525 km orbit at the onset of the Solar Cycle 25 rise phase, the Transporter-3 PocketQubes (decaying between 1.25 and 2.37 years per CelesTrak SATCAT) became a key comparative benchmark for 1P–3P ballistic decay and UHF link budgets.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Delfi-PQ | 3P | TU Delft NL | Falcon 9 (Transporter-3) · AlbaPod | NORAD 51074 2022-002CU | 436.65 MHz (UHF) | Decayed |
Grizu-263A | 1P | Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit Univ. TR | Falcon 9 (Transporter-3) · AlbaPod | NORAD 51025 2022-002AT | ≈525 km Sun-synchronous, 97.4° 437.19 MHz, 435.675 MHz (UHF) | Decayed |
EASAT-2 | 1.5P | AMSAT-EA ES | Falcon 9 (Transporter-3) · AlbaPod | NORAD 51081 2022-002DB | Decayed | |
HADES | 1.5P | AMSAT-EA ES | Falcon 9 (Transporter-3) · AlbaPod | NORAD 51080 2022-002DA | Decayed | |
SanoSat-1 | 1P | ORION Space IN | Falcon 9 (Transporter-3) · AlbaPod | NORAD 51031 2022-002AZ | Decayed | |
Unicorn-2A | 3P | Alba Orbital GB | Falcon 9 (Transporter-3) · AlbaPod | Unassigned | UHF / S | Decayed |
Unicorn-2D | 3P | Alba Orbital GB | Falcon 9 (Transporter-3) · AlbaPod | NORAD 51032 2022-002BA | Decayed | |
Unicorn-2E | 3P | Alba Orbital GB | Falcon 9 (Transporter-3) · AlbaPod | Unassigned | Unverified | |
MDQube-SAT-1 | 2P | Innova Space AR | Falcon 9 (Transporter-3) · AlbaPod | Unassigned | Unverified | |
SATLLA-2B | 2P | Ariel Univ. IL | Falcon 9 (Transporter-3) · AlbaPod | NORAD 51014 2022-002AG | Decayed |
Catalogued Mission Summaries & Flight Notes
- Delfi-PQ (3P, 2022):
- TU Delft’s first PocketQube: PQ9 bus, three magnetorquers and two IMUs, about 1 W orbit-average power; operated for almost two years.
- Grizu-263A (1P, 2022):
- Türkiye’s first PocketQube, built by the Grizu-263 Space Team: passive magnetic attitude control, a dual-rate UHF FSK downlink and a digipeater. Re-entered on 2 Oct 2023 (CelesTrak SATCAT) / 3 Oct 2023 00:00 UTC (SatNOGS DB) after 627–628 days (about 9,500 revolutions); the pre-launch expectation was about four years in orbit.
- Unicorn-2A (3P, 2022):
- Unit of Alba Orbital’s Unicorn-2 3P platform: three-axis ADCS (≈5° worst case) and imaging specified at about 24 m GSD.
- Unicorn-2D (3P, 2022):
- Unit of Alba Orbital’s Unicorn-2 3P platform: three-axis ADCS (≈5° worst case) and imaging specified at about 24 m GSD.
- Unicorn-2E (3P, 2022):
- Unit of Alba Orbital’s Unicorn-2 3P platform: three-axis ADCS (≈5° worst case) and imaging specified at about 24 m GSD.
- SATLLA-2B (2P, 2022):
- Educational mission built with secondary-school students; LEDs visible to ground telescopes and low-resolution imaging.