Educational Outreach: Using PocketQubes for STEM Learning
By Lijie Zhu
Let’s start with a bold thought: every student should have the chance to touch space—figuratively, maybe even literally.
For most people, space feels abstract. Distant. Like it belongs to astronauts and engineers, or billionaires in custom suits. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the rise of PocketQube satellites, the tiniest class of spacecraft, we’re starting to rewrite the script. Space can be part of the classroom. Right now. In very real, very exciting ways.
At Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc., we’ve seen firsthand how these small satellites—like our own HADES‑ICM—can unlock doors in STEM education that previously didn’t exist. Not just in wealthy schools or elite institutions, but everywhere.
So how do you bring orbital technology down to Earth for students?
What is a PocketQube?
Let’s ground this quickly. A PocketQube is a type of satellite roughly 5x5x5 cm per unit. Most are built as 1P (single unit) or 1.5P, like HADES‑ICM. These tiny machines are launched into orbit as secondary payloads—often on rideshare missions—and can be used for a surprising variety of tasks: telemetry, radio experiments, earth observation, even art.
But beyond their technical merit, their educational potential is enormous.
Why PocketQubes Work for STEM Education
Here’s what makes them uniquely suited for classrooms and outreach:
Affordability: PocketQubes are dramatically cheaper than CubeSats or traditional satellites. That means more schools can participate.
Simplicity: While still complex, they are more manageable for student teams. You can build, test, and deploy a satellite without needing a full aerospace department.
Hands-On Learning: From soldering components to writing firmware to setting up a ground station—there’s room for real, physical involvement.
Global Collaboration: Schools across different countries can track, decode, and share satellite data together.
Excitement: Let’s be honest—when a student hears a signal from a satellite they helped build, it sticks with them forever.
Case Study: Bringing HADES‑ICM Into the Classroom
When HADES‑ICM launched, we partnered with educators to develop a student engagement toolkit. The goal was simple: help schools receive real-time telemetry from the satellite and analyze it.
A few highlights:
Printable satellite tracking sheets for younger learners
Simple SDR (software-defined radio) tutorials for older students
Open beacon data for decoding and graphing in class
Live pass predictions so students could listen to the satellite overhead
One school in Manila tracked HADES‑ICM using nothing but a USB dongle, a home-built Yagi antenna, and open-source software. Another in rural Mexico received its first beacon and mapped battery voltage over time.
None of these students were aerospace majors. Many had never heard of a PocketQube before. But once they heard that signal? They were hooked.
It’s Not Just About STEM
We sometimes treat space as a purely technical field—but PocketQubes open doors beyond that. You can involve:
Art students, who design satellite mission patches
English students, who write blog posts about their tracking experience
Social studies students, who research the global collaboration behind a launch
It becomes interdisciplinary. It becomes real.
Because when space becomes part of the narrative in a classroom—when it stops being hypothetical and starts being tangible—students begin to reimagine their future paths.
Scaling It Globally
The most exciting part? This isn’t limited to high-resource schools.
With open data, low-cost receivers, and community-driven tools (like the SatNOGS network), even remote classrooms can participate. You don’t need a launchpad or a million-dollar lab. You just need curiosity, support, and maybe some duct tape for your antenna.
At Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc., we’ve made it a mission to support global classrooms—especially those left out of traditional STEM pipelines. We’re not just building satellites. We’re building entry points.
A Gathering of Innovators
It’s this kind of work—at the edge of space and society—that we’ll be bringing to the 2025 Go Global Awards, hosted by the International Trade Council in London this November.
These awards aren’t just a formality. They’re a conversation. A convergence of companies, educators, technologists, and dreamers from across the world. And we’re honored that our work with PocketQubes and STEM learning has been recognized as part of that future.
Because the future of space isn’t just about what we launch—it’s about who gets to be part of it.
Final Thought
When students realize that space is not out of reach—that they can receive real signals, analyze real data, and contribute to real science—their sense of possibility shifts.
And with PocketQubes, we now have the tools to deliver that shift, not as a one-time gimmick, but as an ongoing, accessible journey.
Let’s keep building the future, one tiny satellite—and one student—at a time.