Payload (satellite)
QUBE-II
QUBE-II is a satellite launched 2026-05-03 by Germany.
About
QUBE-II is a German technology demonstration satellite developed for the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space based on an 8U CubeSat bus by the Lithuanian company NanoAvionics. The mission's goal is to demonstrate quantum key exchange between a small satellite and a ground station. The satellite includes a 2.5U Laser Communication Terminal (LCT) based on instruments flown on precursor missions CubeISL and QUBE-I (2024). The mission's consortium was led by OHB and included DLR, FAU, LMU, and ZFT. QUBE-II was launched on 3 May 2026 on the Falcon 9's CAS500-2 rideshare mission.
Right now
Dotted: where it has been. Solid: the next orbit and a half. Orbit data from CelesTrak, map from NASA Blue Marble. All credits