QUBE-II
| Mission type | Quantum key distribution |
|---|---|
| Operator | BMFTR |
| COSPAR ID | 2026-100C |
| SATCAT no. | 69023 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | 8U CubeSat |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 3 May 2026, 7:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 CAS500-2 rideshare mission |
QUBE-II is a German technology demonstration satellite developed for the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space[1][2][3][4][5][6] based on an 8U CubeSat bus[7] by the Lithuanian company NanoAvionics.[8] The mission's goal is to demonstrate quantum key exchange between a small satellite and a ground station.[9][10][8][11][12] 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).[13] The mission's consortium was led by OHB and included DLR, FAU, LMU, and ZFT.[7] QUBE-II was launched on 3 May 2026 on the Falcon 9's CAS500-2 rideshare mission.[14][15][16][17][18]
See also
- Eagle-1 – European quantum communication satellite
- SAGA (satellite) – European quantum communication satellite
- Quantum Experiments at Space Scale – Chinese quantum research satellite
References
- ^ "QUBE II: Kostengünstige Quantenkommunikation per Satellit".
- ^ "Global quantum encryption". www.lmu.de. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ^ "Commissioning of the Quantum Modules of the Small Satellite QUBE". www.telematik-zentrum.de. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ^ "Global quantum encryption: small satellites as quantum key generators". FAU. 2025-08-11. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ^ "The QUBE research mission". Department of Physics. 2025-09-05. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ^ "#quantumkeydistribution #qkd #spacesecurity #cubesat #opticalcommunication #innovation #spacetech #bmftr #lightandmatter | DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ^ a b "QUBE II – The Future of Secure Communication". www.telematik-zentrum.de. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ^ a b "#newspace #nanosatellites #smallsats | Kongsberg NanoAvionics". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ^ Kulu, Erik. "QUBE-II". Nanosats Database. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "QUBE-II - Quantum Key Distribution with CubeSat". www.dlr.de. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "CAS500-2 Mission". SpaceX. Retrieved 2026-04-30.
- ^ published, Mike Wall (2026-05-02). "SpaceX launching 45 satellites to orbit early May 3: Watch it live". Space. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
- ^ "CAS500-2 & Others | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Next Spaceflight". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
- ^ Day, Eleanor (2026-05-03). "SpaceX launches CAS500-2 and 45 other payloads to Sun-synchronous orbit". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
- ^ Maták, Juraj. "Družice". Kozmonautika. Retrieved 2026-05-08.