Lab
Form factor comparator
Put three sizes side by side: volume, mass, mean projected area, orbit-average power, ballistic parameter, thermal time constant and lifetime from an altitude you choose.
1P
1U
3U
Lab
Lab
Engineering tools that run in your browser and send nothing to a server. They use the same code as the tables in the encyclopedia and the articles.
FEATURED WORKBENCH
Launch Mission WizardEnd-to-End Mission Feasibility Wizard & PDR Exporter
Coupled preliminary sizing across orbit, solar power, Li-ion battery ageing, UHF link closure, ground pass volume, FCC 5-year deorbit compliance, and PDR/LaTeX/CAD export.
Lab
Mission index
125 missions, including the full 2013–2025 PocketQube census: launch, route to orbit, outcome, form factor and sourced status.
20032025
- Active
- 23
- Completed
- 7
- Re-entered
- 27
- Lost
- 10
- Not verified
- 58
Lab
Link budget calculator
UHF and S-band downlink margin against elevation for any EIRP, data rate and ground station, with standard 1P and flight mission presets.
Reference 1P UHF (22 dBm, 9.6 kbit/s, 30° elevation)
- 4800 Bd
- +3.1 dB
- 9600 Bd
- +0.1 dB
Lab
Orbital lifetime calculator
Decay of a circular orbit with the Kennewell density model and the solar activity you set, with the five- and 25-year limits.
Fully loaded 1P, moderate solar activity
450 km
0.64 years
500 km
1.70 years
550 km
4.26 years
Subsystem, Orbital & Telemetry Engineering Workbench (13 Tools)
tracker
Live Orbit & Telemetry Tracker (J2 / CelesTrak / SatNOGS)
Real-time ground track, visibility footprint, topocentric look angles, and latest decoded telemetry frames for active PocketQubes.
heritage
Flight Heritage Telemetry Overlay & Interactive Signal Museum
Compare observed in-orbit decay against Solar Cycle 25 models, synthesize CW/FSK/GMSK/LoRa baseband waveforms, and export .WAV samples.
cad
Parametric 1P–3P CAD (.DXF / .STEP) & KiCad PCB Generator
Generate PocketQube Standard Issue 1 compliant 1.6 mm sliding backplate drawings, 3D STEP envelopes, and 42×42 mm KiCad Edge.Cuts boards.
submit
Community Mission Registry & Zenodo Metadata Builder
Validate and submit new or updated miniature satellite mission records to the nadir lab. open index.
power-budget
Orbital Power & Battery Cycle-Life Simulator
Calculate sunlit solar generation, eclipse battery Depth-of-Discharge (DoD), and multi-year Li-ion capacity retention.
thermal
Single-Node Orbital Thermal & Solder Fatigue Simulator
Integrate orbital temperature swings across sunlit and eclipse phases and estimate Engelmaier solder-joint fatigue cycles.
rf
LoRa / FSK Modulation & Doppler Shift Analyzer
Compare LoRa spreading factors (SF7–SF12), sensitivity, 32-byte time-on-air, and LEO horizon Doppler shift limits.
propulsion
Propulsion Δv & Deorbit Perigee Calculator
Compute Tsiolkovsky rocket Δv, Hohmann perigee-lowering requirements, and annual atmospheric drag make-up.
data-budget
On-Board Data Storage & Downlink Throughput Budget
Balance housekeeping telemetry, payload data generation, AX.25/FEC protocol overhead, and FRAM/flash ring-buffer autonomy.
pass-predictor
Ground-Station Pass & S-Curve Doppler Predictor
Evaluate daily pass count, contact minutes, and real-time 437 MHz Doppler S-curves for any ground station latitude.
pmac
Passive Magnetic Attitude Control (PMAC) Sizer
Size permanent bar magnets and soft-magnetic hysteresis rods for PocketQube alignment and despin time.
bdot
Active B-Dot Magnetorquer Detumbling Simulator
Simulate 3-axis angular velocity decay under PCB magnetorquer B-dot control from tip-off to capture.
mass-budget
Subsystem Mass Budget & Principal Inertia Calculator
Track Current Best Estimate (CBE) subsystem masses, ECSS 12% system margin, deployer reserve, and principal moments of inertia.
One set of models
Every tool calls the physics modules behind the site: the Kennewell density model and drag decay of the PocketQube review, Eq. 1 for body-mounted power, Eq. 2 for the thermal time constant and the Table 7 link budget. Results are first-order estimates for comparison and early sizing, not mission analysis.