Seven PocketQubes Launch on Transporter-12: First PocketQube-to-ChipSat Optical Link (POQUITO) and Turkish Skylink-1/2 IoT Pair
Alba Flight 8 on SpaceX Transporter-12 deployed seven PocketQubes from six countries via D-Orbit ION, including Luxembourg’s POQUITO, Poland’s HYPE, Portugal’s PROMETHEUS-1, Türkiye’s Skylink-1/2, and Spain’s HADES-R & Hydra-T.
On 14 January 2025, seven PocketQubes were injected into Sun-synchronous orbit aboard a D-Orbit ION orbital transfer vehicle launched on SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-12.
University of Luxembourg’s 1P POQUITO (185 g) demonstrated the first in-orbit visible-light optical communication link between a host PocketQube and an onboard femtosatellite (ChipSat), using internal PCB-trace magnetorquer coils for attitude damping.
Turkish IoT operator Hello Space expanded its fleet with two 3P LoRaWAN spacecraft (Skylink-1 and Skylink-2), while student teams at AGH University of Krakow (HYPE) and the University of Minho / IST / CMU (PROMETHEUS-1) achieved the first national PocketQube milestones for Poland and Portugal.