The progress of the CubeSat project CubeSat Atmospheric Probe for Education (CAPE) is presented. Furthermore, the results of the recent sounding rocket experiment "micro re-entry capsule 2 REXUS" (MIRKA2-RX) are discussed with regards to the later application in the CAPE mission. During this mission a flight prototype with full sensor setup was ejected from a REXUS sounding rocket at 78 km altitude. The ejection was recorded and qualified a specially designed ejection mechanism for the capsule. Unfortunately the capsule did not activate during ejection, but was later activated on impact and recovered. An electrical mirror system on the launcher was used as a backup, which allowed to qualify the electrical system during flight phase. The focus of this paper is the design process of MIRKA2-RX, its follow up projects and the lessons learned for the CAPE mission.

Key Words: CubeSat, Atmospheric entry, Student, Sounding rocket, Capsule, REXUS