The PocketQube Standard

1. Introduction

The PocketQube concept (Figure 1) was first proposed in 2009, from an idea of professor Robert J. Twiggs, as a result of a collaboration between Morehead State University (MSU) and Kentucky Space which developed some specifications with respect to this new class of spacecraft [1,2]. These specifications were stipulated in order to help universities in performing space applications using this type of platform. The PocketQubes are a cube shaped platform of 50x50 mm with a mass of no more than 250 g for which typically COTS electronics are used. The first PocketQube was launched using the MRFOD (Morehead Rome Femto Orbital Deployer) installed inside the UniSat5 microsatellite as a result of a cooperation between Morehead State University GAUSS Srl and Kentucky Space.

1.1 Purpose

This document aims to present a PocketQube Mechanical Standard which follows from a collaboration between Alba Orbital, Delft University of Technology and GAUSS Srl. This action started due to a need to converge towards common standards and interfaces for the PocketQube platform, in order to avoid uncertainties and allow the community to grow, starting from the same, shared standard. The aim is that for the next revisions, the standard would be extended to electrical, operational and testing requirements. The purpose of this standard is to facilitate the development of PocketQubes in the same way as the CubeSat Standard [3] facilitated the design and development of CubeSats in their infancy. The aim is also to enlarge the community and increase the overall access to space opportunities for this new type of satellite platform.