# SOMP 2

> failed German technology demonstration and amateur radio satellite

**Wikidata**: [Q105223742](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105223742)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/somp-2

## Summary
SOMP 2 was a German CubeSat technology-demonstration and amateur-radio satellite built and operated by the Dresden University of Technology. It was a 2 kg student-built satellite (also known as QB50-DE02 and Student's Oxygen Measurement Project 2) that launched on 2017-04-18 but is described as a failed mission.

## Key Facts
- SOMP 2 was a CubeSat-class satellite and an instance of both a technology demonstration spacecraft and an amateur radio satellite.  
- Operator and manufacturer: TUD Dresden University of Technology.  
- Mass: 2 kilogram.  
- Launch date and time: 2017-04-18 at 15:11:26 (UTC qualifier from source).  
- Launch vehicle: Atlas V 401 (vehicle identifier AV-070).  
- Launch site (start point): Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41.  
- COSPAR ID: 1998-067LJ.  
- NORAD Space-Track Catalog Number (SCN): 42701.  
- Country of origin: Germany.  
- Aliases: QB50-DE02; Student's Oxygen Measurement Project 2.  
- Preceded by: SOMP. Followed by: SOMP 2b.  
- Wikidata description: failed German technology demonstration and amateur radio satellite.

## FAQs
### Q: What was SOMP 2?
A: SOMP 2 was a 2 kg German CubeSat built and operated by the Dresden University of Technology as a technology demonstration and amateur radio satellite. It is described in source records as a failed mission.

### Q: When and how was SOMP 2 launched?
A: SOMP 2 was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41 on 2017-04-18 at 15:11:26, aboard an Atlas V 401 rocket (AV-070).

### Q: Who built and operated SOMP 2?
A: The satellite was built and operated by TUD Dresden University of Technology.

### Q: What are other names for SOMP 2?
A: SOMP 2 is also recorded under the aliases QB50-DE02 and Student's Oxygen Measurement Project 2.

## Why It Matters
SOMP 2 represents a student-led, university-built small satellite effort combining technology demonstration and amateur-radio capabilities within the CubeSat form factor. As a compact 2 kg CubeSat, it illustrates the increasing use of miniaturized satellites by universities to test experimental sensors, subsystems, and communications in low Earth orbit at relatively low cost. Its operation under the Dresden University of Technology highlights the role of higher-education institutions in hands-on spacecraft design, manufacturing, and mission operations training. The failure reported in source descriptions also underscores the technical risks inherent to small satellite missions and the learning value these missions provide for students and researchers when missions do not proceed as planned. SOMP 2’s recorded identifiers (COSPAR ID 1998-067LJ and SCN 42701) and its launch on a major launch vehicle (Atlas V 401) document the mission’s integration into international launch activities and the broader small-satellite ecosystem.

## Notable For
- Being a German university-built CubeSat combining technology demonstration and amateur radio roles.  
- Small mass and educational scale: a 2 kg CubeSat built and operated by TUD Dresden University of Technology.  
- Launch on a major launch vehicle: carried to orbit on an Atlas V 401 (AV-070) from Cape Canaveral SLC-41 on 2017-04-18.  
- Multiple identifiers and aliases: COSPAR 1998-067LJ, SCN 42701, and known also as QB50-DE02 and Student's Oxygen Measurement Project 2.  
- Recorded in sources as a failed mission, marking it as a case study in risk and learning for student satellite programs.

## Body
### Overview
- Name: SOMP 2.  
- Nature: CubeSat technology demonstration and amateur radio satellite.  
- Described status: failed mission (per source description).  
- Aliases: QB50-DE02; Student's Oxygen Measurement Project 2.

### Design and Manufacturer
- Manufacturer/operator: TUD Dresden University of Technology.  
- Mass: 2 kg.  
- Form factor: CubeSat-class (miniaturized satellite made up of 10 cm-sided cubic modules; instance_of recorded as CubeSat).

### Launch and Mission
- Launch date: 2017-04-18.  
- Launch time qualifier: 15:11:26 (as recorded in structured properties).  
- Launch vehicle: Atlas V 401 (qualified identifier AV-070).  
- Launch site: Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41.  
- Significant event recorded: rocket launch from Cape Canaveral SLC-41 on 2017-04-18.

### Identifiers and Relationships
- COSPAR ID: 1998-067LJ.  
- NORAD/Space-Track SCN: 42701.  
- Country of origin: Germany.  
- Follows: SOMP.  
- Followed by: SOMP 2b.  
- Instance of: CubeSat; technology demonstration spacecraft; amateur radio satellite; former entity.

### Classification and Context
- Classified as a technology demonstration spacecraft: used to demonstrate experimental technologies.  
- Classified as an amateur radio satellite: designed to transmit amateur radio communications.  
- Classified as a CubeSat: miniaturized satellite form factor.

## Schema Markup
```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "SOMP 2",
  "description": "SOMP 2 was a failed German CubeSat technology demonstration and amateur radio satellite built and operated by the Dresden University of Technology.",
  "additionalType": "CubeSat; technology demonstration spacecraft; amateur radio satellite"
}

## References

1. [Source](https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/somp-2.htm)
2. Jonathan's Space Report