CuBy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

CuBy [CuBy consortium]

CuBy (Bavarian Satellite Network) is a planned German multispectral Earth observation constellation being developed for the German Free State of Bavaria. The program will deploy a fleet of 8U CubeSats to provide high-resolution imagery for government, commercial, and public users. An initial demonstrator mission consisting of five satellites is scheduled for launch in 2026 to validate the technology and operational concept before a decision is made on expanding the system into a full operational constellation.

The constellation is intended to support agricultural and forestry monitoring, environmental observation, and emergency response. The system is designed to provide complete control over data acquisition and processing while achieving a ground sampling distance of approximately 4 m and a revisit time of about three days. The demonstrator mission will initially provide partial coverage of Bavaria, with a future operational network planned to extend regular high-resolution coverage across the entire state.

The satellites are approximately 37 × 23 × 10 cm in size, have a mass of about 14 kg each, and are planned to operate in a 460 km low Earth orbit. Their primary payload is an eight-channel multispectral pushbroom line scanner operating between 450 and 900 nm, consisting of seven multispectral bands and one panchromatic channel. The imagery will be processed on the ground using advanced image processing and AI-assisted analysis techniques.

The project is funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance and Regional Development. The Center for Telematics (ZFT) in Würzburg is responsible for system engineering, software development, satellite integration, testing, mission operations, and the ground segment. The Technical University of Munich (TUM) provides expertise in mission design, remote sensing, and data processing algorithms, while the Bavarian State Office for Digitalization, Broadband and Surveying (LDBV) defines user requirements and develops operational data products. Additional industrial partners are participating in the development and manufacture of the satellites.