Alba Flight 11 (Transporter-16) & Global Census Update: PocketQube Catalog Reaches 106 Spacecraft Across 28 Nations with SO-127, Malaysia’s DECIMAL-SAT1 & Vietnam’s VEGAFLY-1
With the addition of the five Alba Flight 11 picosatellites on SpaceX Transporter-16 (30 March 2026) and the eight Transporter-18 PICOBUS v2 units, the nadir lab. extended PocketQube launch census reaches 106 cataloged spacecraft across 2013–2026 and expands the Global Nations Atlas to 28 sovereign countries plus ESA.
On 30 March 2026, Alba Orbital executed Alba Flight 11 (integrated via SEOPS) aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-16 from Vandenberg SLC-4E, injecting five 1P–3P PocketQubes into a ~585 km, 97.77° Sun-synchronous orbit and bringing Alba Orbital’s cumulative heritage to 62 deployed picosatellites across 11 missions.
At the 3P commercial tier, Unicorn-2R (NORAD 68477, COSPAR 2026-067BP, 588 × 584 km) and Unicorn-2S (NORAD 68475, COSPAR 2026-067BM, 587 × 583 km) extended Alba Orbital’s night-lights optical Earth-observation constellation. At the 2P tier, Spain’s SpinnyONE / HADES-SA combined Spinning Around’s 1P microgravity laboratory with a Hydra Space / AMSAT-EA VHF/UHF FM voice and FSK repeater bus (436.875 MHz downlink), earning the designation Spain-OSCAR 127 (SO-127) in June 2026.
Alba Flight 11 also inaugurated PocketQube flight heritage for two Southeast Asian nations: Malaysia’s 1P DECIMAL-SAT1 (OCULLO Space & BioSistemika, 436.600 MHz), carrying a synthetic DNA archival radiation-stability experiment alongside an amateur UHF store-and-forward payload; and Vietnam’s 1P VEGAFLY-1 / XV5T (Vega Space and Geospatial Academy, 436.655 MHz), built by high-school students with a CMOS Earth camera and UHF digipeater. Combined with Kazakhstan’s NIS-PQ on Transporter-18, the nadir lab. database now tracks 143 small-satellite missions (106 PocketQubes, 35 CubeSats, and 2 ThinSat/ChipSat benchmarks) across 28 sovereign nations plus ESA.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicorn-2R | 3P | Alba Orbital GB | Falcon 9 (Transporter-16) · AlbaPod (Alba Flight 11 / SEOPS) | NORAD 68477 2026-067BP | 401.82 MHz (UHF) | Unverified |
Unicorn-2S | 3P | Alba Orbital GB | Falcon 9 (Transporter-16) · AlbaPod (Alba Flight 11 / SEOPS) | NORAD 68475 2026-067BM | 401.82 MHz (UHF) | Unverified |
HADES-SA (SO-127) | 2P | Spinning Around / AMSAT-EA / Hydra Space Systems ES | Falcon 9 (Transporter-16) · AlbaPod (Alba Flight 11 / SEOPS) | Unassigned | 436.875 MHz (VHF/UHF) | Active |
DECIMAL-SAT1 | 1P | OCULLO Space & BioSistemika MY | Falcon 9 (Transporter-16) · AlbaPod (Alba Flight 11 / SEOPS) | Unassigned | 436.6 MHz (UHF) | Unverified |
VEGAFLY-1 | 1P | Vega Space and Geospatial Academy VN | Falcon 9 (Transporter-16) · AlbaPod (Alba Flight 11 / SEOPS) | Unassigned | 436.655 MHz (UHF) | Unverified |
HUNITY | 3P | BME (Budapest Univ. of Tech.) HU | Falcon 9 (Transporter-15) · SEOPS / AlbaPod | NORAD 66670 2025-276E | UHF / S | Active |
Catalogued Mission Summaries & Flight Notes
- Unicorn-2R (3P, 2026):
- Commercial 3P Unicorn-2 night-time optical Earth-observation PocketQube deployed into a 586 km Sun-synchronous orbit on Alba Flight 11 aboard SpaceX Transporter-16. Cataloged in CelesTrak SATCAT at 588 × 584 km, 97.77° SSO (NORAD 68477, OPS '+'); commercial imaging operational state not publicly itemized.
- Unicorn-2S (3P, 2026):
- Sister 3P Unicorn-2 night-lights Earth-observation PocketQube co-deployed with Unicorn-2R on Alba Flight 11 (SpaceX Transporter-16) into a ~585 km Sun-synchronous orbit. Cataloged in CelesTrak SATCAT at 587 × 583 km, 97.77° SSO (NORAD 68475, OPS '+'); commercial imaging operational state not publicly itemized.
- HADES-SA (SO-127) (2P, 2026):
- Spanish 2P PocketQube launched on Alba Flight 11 (Transporter-16) combining Spinning Around’s 1P microgravity laboratory with a Hydra Space / AMSAT-EA VHF/UHF FM voice and FSK repeater bus designated Spain-OSCAR 127 (SO-127).
- DECIMAL-SAT1 (1P, 2026):
- Malaysia’s first PocketQube (1P), developed by OCULLO Space with BioSistemika and launched on Alba Flight 11 (Transporter-16) to test synthetic DNA archival data stability under LEO radiation alongside an amateur UHF store-and-forward payload. Deployed on Alba Flight 11 (Transporter-16); post-deployment UHF telemetry status and specific SATCAT object correlation not independently confirmed.
- VEGAFLY-1 (1P, 2026):
- Vietnamese 1P educational PocketQube built by high-school students at Vega Space and Geospatial Academy and launched on Alba Flight 11 (Transporter-16) with a compact CMOS Earth camera and UHF amateur digipeater. Deployed on Alba Flight 11 (Transporter-16); post-deployment UHF beacon activity and SATCAT object correlation not independently verified.
- HUNITY (3P, 2025):
- Hungarian 3P PocketQube developed at BME with deployable solar arrays and RF spectrum monitoring payload, following the SMOG-P, ATL-1, SMOG-1 and MRC-100 lineage. In orbit; active UHF/S-band operations reported by BME and Alba Orbital following Transporter-15 deployment (Nov 2025).