First PocketQubes (2013)

Also known as $50SAT, Eagle-2, WREN, Beakersat-1, QubeScout-S1

The four founding PocketQubes released from UniSat-5 on 21 November 2013 ($50SAT, WREN, Beakersat-1 and QubeScout-S1) that proved the 50 mm format in orbit.

Document
SQ-MS-002
Updated
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1 min
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The November 2013 Dnepr / UniSat-5 launch

On 21 November 2013, a Dnepr rocket launched from Yasny carried GAUSS Srl's UniSat-5 microsatellite into a Sun-synchronous orbit[1]. Inside UniSat-5, the Morehead–Rome FemtoSat Orbital Deployer (MRFOD) released the first four PocketQubes ever flown[2][3]:

SpacecraftSizeDeveloperMission & flight outcome
$50SAT (Eagle-2 / MO-76)1.5PMorehead State Univ. & radio amateurs (Howell, Stuart)Amateur radio demonstrator built from of COTS parts (PICAXE MCU, HopeRF RFM22B UHF transceiver); transmitted telemetry for over 19 months until battery degradation and re-entered in May 2018.
WREN1PSTADOKO UG (Germany)Technology demonstrator carrying a colour camera, 3-axis reaction wheels and micro-pulsed plasma thrusters (PPTs) inside a single 1P cube.
Beakersat-1 (Eagle-1)2.5PMorehead State Univ. / Sonoma State Univ.Educational platform derived from the Eagle series.
QubeScout-S12.5PUniversity of MarylandAttitude-sensing and bruised-sensor experiment.

Why $50SAT defined the class

$50SAT demonstrated that an unpressurized picosatellite assembled on standard FR-4 printed-circuit boards with a consumer-grade sub-GHz ISM transceiver IC (HopeRF RFM22B / Si4432 on ), four AAA NiMH cells and tape-measure antennas could survive launch and close a global amateur UHF link for nearly two years[3].

References

  1. [1]Krebs, G. D. (2026). UniSat 5. Gunter’s Space Page.space.skyrocket.de(accessed 20 October 2026)
  2. [2]Krebs, G. D. (2026). PocketQube (PocketQub). Gunter’s Space Page.space.skyrocket.de(accessed 20 October 2026)
  3. [3]nadir lab. (2026). PocketQube-class picosatellites: architecture, flight heritage, and a multi-method post-flight analysis of Grizu-263A [Preprint]. nadir lab. Research Monographs (SQ-R-001).Read on nadir lab.

Cite this SatWiki entry

@misc{nadirlab2026first,
  author       = {{nadir lab.}},
  title        = {{First PocketQubes (2013)}},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = oct,
  howpublished = {nadir lab. SatWiki SQ-MS-002 (Rev. 1)},
  url          = {https://nadirlab.space/wiki/first-pocketqubes-2013/}
}