QUBE-II

QUBE-II
Mission typeQuantum key distribution
OperatorGermany BMFTR
COSPAR ID2026-100C
SATCAT no.69023Edit this on Wikidata
Spacecraft properties
Bus8U CubeSat
Start of mission
Launch date3 May 2026, 7:00 UTC
RocketFalcon 9 CAS500-2 rideshare mission

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 (launched in 2021) 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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "QUBE II: Kostengünstige Quantenkommunikation per Satellit".
  2. ↑ "Global quantum encryption". www.lmu.de. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  3. ↑ "Commissioning of the Quantum Modules of the Small Satellite QUBE". www.telematik-zentrum.de. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  4. ↑ "Global quantum encryption: small satellites as quantum key generators". FAU. 2025-08-11. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  5. ↑ "The QUBE research mission". Department of Physics. 2025-09-05. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  6. ↑ "#quantumkeydistribution #qkd #spacesecurity #cubesat #opticalcommunication #innovation #spacetech #bmftr #lightandmatter | DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  7. 1 2 "QUBE II – The Future of Secure Communication". www.telematik-zentrum.de. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  8. 1 2 "#newspace #nanosatellites #smallsats | Kongsberg NanoAvionics". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  9. ↑ Kulu, Erik. "QUBE-II". Nanosats Database. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  10. ↑ Hutterer, Martin; Auer, Michael; Baliuka, Adomas; Bayraktar, Oemer; Freiwang, Peter; Gall, Marcell; Günther, Kevin; Haber, Roland; Janusch, Janko; Knips, Lukas; Kobel, Pascal; Krauss, Markus; Lemke, Norbert; Marquardt, Christoph; Moll, Florian (2022-09-19). "QUBE-II - Quantum Key Distribution with a CubeSat". 73rd International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2022. Paris, Frankreich.
  11. ↑ "QUBE-II - Quantum Key Distribution with CubeSat". www.dlr.de. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  12. ↑ Steinberger, Michael; Auer, Michael; Baliuka, Adomas; Batta, Karabee; Birkhold, Moritz; Weinfurter, Harald; Knips, Lukas (2025). "Receiving Polarization-Encoded Quantum Key Distribution Signals from the QUBE-II CubeSat". Optica Quantum 2.0 Conference and Exhibition QTu2A.3. Optica Publishing Group. doi:10.1364/QUANTUM.2025.QTu2A.3. ISBN 978-1-957171-48-7.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  13. ↑ Roubal, Christian; Rodeck, Lukas Rupert; Gagern, Paul; Jakobs, Jan Paul (2026-03-05). Hemmati, Hamid; Robinson, Bryan S. (eds.). "Optical design of the CubeSat-based QKD terminal QUBE-II". Proceedings Volume 13885, Free-Space Laser Communications XXXVIII. SPIE: 63. doi:10.1117/12.3091347. ISBN 978-1-5106-9684-6.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  14. ↑ "CAS500-2 Mission". SpaceX. Retrieved 2026-04-30.
  15. ↑ published, Mike Wall (2026-05-02). "SpaceX launching 45 satellites to orbit early May 3: Watch it live". Space. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
  16. ↑ "CAS500-2 & Others | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Next Spaceflight". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
  17. ↑ Day, Eleanor (2026-05-03). "SpaceX launches CAS500-2 and 45 other payloads to Sun-synchronous orbit". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
  18. ↑ Maták, Juraj. "Družice". Kozmonautika. Retrieved 2026-05-08.