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: 21 Oct 2026
Reading time: 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 $\approx 630 km$ Sun-synchronous orbit[1]. Inside UniSat-5, the Morehead–Rome FemtoSat Orbital Deployer (MRFOD) released the first four PocketQubes ever flown[2][3]:

Spacecraft	Size	Developer	Mission & flight outcome
$50SAT (Eagle-2 / MO-76)	1.5P	Morehead State Univ. & radio amateurs (Howell, Stuart)	Amateur radio demonstrator built from $< 250 USD$ of COTS parts (PICAXE MCU, HopeRF RFM22B $100 mW$ UHF transceiver); transmitted telemetry for over 19 months until battery degradation and re-entered in May 2018.
WREN	1P	STADOKO 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)	2.5P	Morehead State Univ. / Sonoma State Univ.	Educational platform derived from the Eagle series.
QubeScout-S1	2.5P	University of Maryland	Attitude-sensing and bruised-sensor experiment.

References

[1]Krebs, G. D. (2026). UniSat 5. Gunter’s Space Page.space.skyrocket.de(accessed 20 October 2026)
[2]Krebs, G. D. (2026). PocketQube (PocketQub). Gunter’s Space Page.space.skyrocket.de(accessed 20 October 2026)
[3]nadir lab. (2026). PocketQube picosatellites: A review of standards, mission trends and miniaturization constraints, with lessons learned from Grizu-263A, Türkiye’s first PocketQube [Preprint]. nadir lab.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/en/wiki/first-pocketqubes-2013/}
}

nadir lab. (2026). First PocketQubes (2013). nadir lab. SatWiki (SQ-MS-002, Rev. 1). https://nadirlab.space/en/wiki/first-pocketqubes-2013/

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PY  - 2026
ET  - Rev. 1
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