This project focuses on testing computing hardware aboard a host spacecraft.
ROQuET is a 3U, 9.8 kg programmable quantum-photonic payload developed by a University of Vienna-led team with CNR-IFN and DLR. Hosted on D-Orbit’s ION SCV Passionate Paula, it launched on June 23, 2025. The September 2026 paper reports programmable optical operations and two-photon interference during its first eight months in orbit, using a six-mode circuit with three usable detector channels.
University of Vienna / CNR-IFN / DLR · In-orbit operation demonstrated
Scope: Enabling research · A named program validates computing hardware, software or infrastructure. No shared service platform is established.
6 optical modesDemonstratedUniversal programmable photonic integrated circuit in the hosted payloadEvidence & scope
Six optical modes describe the hardware architecture. Only three detector channels provided usable flight measurements; output analysis used routed 3x3 sub-unitaries. Supplement S2.3 and S9.16 disagree on the timing of the other detector failures.
10 W averageDemonstratedReported average power consumption of the complete quantum-computing payloadEvidence & scope
The paper reports average complete-payload power, not peak/host-spacecraft/customer IT power. This is not an assertion of continuous utilization throughout the eight-month experimental campaign.
Figures retain their disclosed units and scope. Launched hardware does not establish demonstrated performance; targets may change. Not disclosed means no figure in the reviewed sources.
The detector board uses LASER COMPONENTS SAP500 silicon single-photon avalanche diodes. Six detector positions were installed; only three channels yielded usable flight measurements.
This records an explicitly identified, implemented role in the flown research payload; it is not evidence of a separately announced paid contract. The direct legal buyer, contract execution/selection date, price and procurement terms are not disclosed. September 21, 2026 is the paper submission date, not the procurement date. The paper disagrees on whether the two additional unusable channels failed before or during launch; no failure date or supplier liability is inferred.
Announced 21 Sept 2026 · Evidence checked 27 Sept 2026
ROQuET’s programmable 28-channel current-source board is identified as Qontrol; it controls the circuit’s 27 thermal phase shifters with 16-bit precision.
This records an explicitly identified, implemented role in the flown research payload; it is not evidence of a separately announced paid contract. The direct legal buyer, contract execution/selection date, price and procurement terms are not disclosed. September 21, 2026 is the paper submission date, not the procurement date.
Announced 21 Sept 2026 · Evidence checked 27 Sept 2026
SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the ION SCV Passionate Paula host and its ROQuET payload on Transporter-14 on June 23, 2025.
This records an explicitly identified, implemented role in the flown research payload; it is not evidence of a separately announced paid contract. The direct legal buyer, contract execution/selection date, price and procurement terms are not disclosed. September 21, 2026 is the paper submission date, not the procurement date.
Announced 21 Sept 2026 · Evidence checked 27 Sept 2026
The flown payload is controlled by a Xiphos Q7S single-board computer using a Xilinx Zynq-7000 SoC with ARM Cortex-A9 and FPGA logic, running a custom Linux/Yocto and Python environment.
This records an explicitly identified, implemented role in the flown research payload; it is not evidence of a separately announced paid contract. The direct legal buyer, contract execution/selection date, price and procurement terms are not disclosed. September 21, 2026 is the paper submission date, not the procurement date.
Announced 21 Sept 2026 · Evidence checked 27 Sept 2026
ROQuET’s photon-pair source uses a commercial 405 nm fibre-coupled continuous-wave pump-laser module explicitly identified as Integrated Optics hardware.
This records an explicitly identified, implemented role in the flown research payload; it is not evidence of a separately announced paid contract. The direct legal buyer, contract execution/selection date, price and procurement terms are not disclosed. September 21, 2026 is the paper submission date, not the procurement date. Additional evidence for this same role: https://integratedoptics.com/blog/news/io-laser-enters-the-era-of-quantum-space-research. The July 14, 2025 supplier release describes the same University of Vienna 405 nm MATCHBOX laser launched June 23, 2025. The research paper explicitly names Integrated Optics and the Matchbox module. July 14 is the earliest retained supplier disclosure, not a procurement date.
Announced 14 Jul 2025 · Evidence checked 27 Oct 2026
D-Orbit hosted ROQuET on ION SCV Passionate Paula for Skytrail, providing payload power, command execution, timing and data/file exchange through the host flight payload computer.
This records an explicitly identified, implemented role in the flown research payload; it is not evidence of a separately announced paid contract. The direct legal buyer, contract execution/selection date, price and procurement terms are not disclosed. September 21, 2026 is the paper submission date, not the procurement date. Additional evidence for this same role: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/r5mwia0y/production/c1f3581bb047d1b7e876b0f6bf29889fc747dc29.pdf. The June 24, 2025 carrier release and September 21, 2026 research paper describe the same ROQuET payload on Skytrail. June 24 is the earliest retained hosting disclosure, not a contract date.
Announced 24 Jun 2025 · Evidence checked 27 Oct 2026
CNR Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies (CNR-IFN)
Research participant
Program organization: University of Vienna
Partnership
Processors / accelerators
CNR Milano / CNR-IFN developed the programmable photonic chip for the ROQuET quantum-computing experiment in collaboration with the University of Vienna.
The official D-Orbit mission booklet, printed pages 5–6, explicitly describes this joint research role. No paid procurement, legal buyer, agreement signature date or value is disclosed.
Announced Publication date not supplied · Evidence checked 27 Sept 2026
DLR supplied the onboard camera and contributed space-mission expertise, vacuum-testing facilities and cleanrooms for ROQuET assembly and qualification.
The official D-Orbit mission booklet, printed pages 5–6, explicitly describes this joint research role. No paid procurement, legal buyer, agreement signature date or value is disclosed.
Announced Publication date not supplied · Evidence checked 27 Sept 2026
No next mission milestone disclosed in the September 2026 paper.
Manual review with evidence gaps 29 Oct 2026. Direct reread of arXiv v1 confirmed an irreducible internal conflict between S2.3 and S9.16. The accepted record keeps three usable flight channels and assigns no unsupported detector-failure time. No newer version or official correction was available. Primary body last observed 14 Oct, 11:07 UTC. Source monitoring: unavailable. Source collection and substantive profile review are separate checks. Plans and dates may change.
Payload operation and detector/laser health after the reported first eight months, and its decommissioning date, remain undisclosed. The host mission’s “ongoing” label does not establish current quantum-payload operation.
No paid computing customer, service revenue, contract value, signing date or legal procurement buyer is disclosed. Named hardware and mission roles do not establish separately announced contract awards.
The program roles of Vienna, CNR-IFN and DLR are identified, but QUBO’s institutional workshare and the complete procurement chain remain undisclosed; author affiliation alone does not establish a supplier agreement.
Detector noise, pump-laser degradation and thermal calibration constrained the demonstration. Six optical modes are hardware architecture; measured output comparisons used routed three-mode subspaces.
The paper does not establish operational Earth-observation inference, quantum computational advantage, a commercial computing service, a next flight or a dated follow-on milestone.
The paper's own S2.3 and S9.16 passages are mutually inconsistent. S2.3 says one detector was defective before launch and suggests two fibre breaks during launch, while S9.16 says C2, C3 and C4 were already faulty before launch. No later paper version or official author correction exists. SignalSpore therefore records three usable flight channels and does not assign a failure time.
Project updates
Verified announcements and milestones linked to this project, newest first.
The 3U payload launched on SpaceX Transporter-14 and is hosted on D-Orbit ION SCV Passionate Paula for the Skytrail mission in an approximately 510 km Sun-synchronous orbit.
The authors report programming distinct unitaries, recovering output distributions and observing two-photon interference. This is a research demonstration, not a commercial service benchmark.
