CanSat/Comptetition

Swiss CanSat Competition

Cansat specifications

The following rules shall apply

1. The CanSat must fit inside a cylinder of 115 mm height and 66 mm diameter with the exception of the parachute.
2. The CanSat shall have a mass between 300 and 350 grams.
3. The battery must be easily accessible in case it has to be replaced or recharged.
4. The CanSat must have an easily accessible master power switch.

Primary mission

The team must build a CanSat and program it to accomplish the following compulsory primary mission:

After release and during descent, the CanSat must measure the following parameters and transmit the following data as telemetry to the ground station at least once every second:

• air temperature
• air pressure

It must be possible for the team to analyze the data obtained (for example, make a calculation of altitude) and display it in graphs (for example, altitude vs. time and temperature vs. altitude). This analysis can be done after the flight itself.

Secondary mission

The secondary mission of the CanSat must be selected by the team. It can be based on other satellite missions, a perceived need for scientific data for a specific project, a technology demonstration for a student-designed component, or any other mission that would fit the CanSat’s capabilities.

Other competitions

Similar competitions are organized by:

• the European Space Agency (ESA)
• the American Astronautical Society (AAS)
• a number of european countries

If we are are recognised by ESA, the winning team of the national CanSat competition will automatically be granted participation in the European competition. We will have to confirm that want to ‘reserve’ a slot for our winning team in this competition.

Project management

The tasks are:

• selection of the mission's objectives
• definition of technical requirements necessary to achieve the objectives
• design of CanSat hardware and software
• design of ground station/ground telecommunication system ?
• integration and testing of the CanSat
• launch-time mission control
• data analysis

The milestones are:

• mission objectives report
• progress report 1
• Critical Design Review (CDR)
• progress report 2
• final design document
• pre-launch tests by organizing comitee
• CanSat launch
• final report