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CanSat Competition Overview

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

Jan. 18, 2018 | 3:28

The American Astronautical Society (AAS) has organized an annual student design-build-launch competition for space-related topics. Although similar competitions exist for other fields of engineering (robots, radio-control airplanes, racing cars, etc.), most space-related competitions are paper design competitions. While these are worthwhile, they do not give students the satisfaction of being involved with the end-to-end life cycle of a complex engineering project, from conceptual design, through integration and test, actual operation of the system and concluding with a post-mission summary and debrief. This competition fulfills that need!

This annual competition is open to teams from universities and colleges. Teams must be able to design and build a space-type system, following the approved competition guide, and then compete against each at the end of two semesters to determine the winners. Rockets will be provided but teams are responsible for funding the construction of their CanSat and all travel/lodging expenses.

Launch location is Stephenville, Texas
June 14-16, 2019

The 2019 mission will explore the use of auto-gyro descent control of a science payload when released from the launch vehicle. The CanSat shall consist of two parts, the science payload and the container to protect the science payload as it is deployed from the rocket.

The Cansat shall be launched to an altitude ranging 670 meters to 725 meters above the launch site and deployed near apogee (peak altitude). Orientation of deployment is not controlled and is most definitely violent. The CanSat container must protect the science payload from damage during the launch and deployment.

Once the CanSat is deployed from the rocket, the CanSat shall descend using a parachute at a descent rate of 20 m/s. At 450 meters, the container shall release science auto-gyro payload. The descent rate shall be 10 to 15 m/s. As the science payload descends under auto-gyro control, the payload shall transmit telemetry which shall include sensors to track altitude using air pressure, external temperature, battery voltage, GPS position, pitch and roll and auto-gyro blade spin rate. When the science payload lands, all telemetry transmission shall stop and a located audio beacon shall activate.

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