QbX 1, ..., 12

generic Colony-1 bus [Pumpkin]

QbX (CubeSat Experiments) are nanosatellites in NRO's Colony-1 program to test technologies in orbit. NRO purchased 12 3-unit CubeSat busses with deployable solar panels and three-axis control from Pumpkin Inc. The NRO distributed the structures to other Defense Department or federal agency partners and universities to develop and integrate a variety of payloads.

For the first two QbX satellites, flight software, antennas, and the TTC radio were built and integrated by the Naval Center for Space, as was the developmental communications payload. Environmental testing of the completed package was also performed at NRL. Ground stations on the east and west coasts provide coverage for command loads and data collection.