CanSat, satellite in a soda can

• Main Author: Koh, Jian Cheng
• Other Authors: Ling Keck Voon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59275
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This report documents the development of a CanSat from scratch to a working prototype. The first CanSat project is initiated in 1999 named, A Rocket Launch for International Student Satellites (ARLISS). It is a collaborative effort with faculty of Stanford University Space Systems Development Program in Northern California to educate individuals who have interest in satellite technology. The CanSat objective is to collect information and data from the environment. Such data includes air-pressure, temperature, humidity and location data etc. Small cameras can also be installed onto the CanSat to allow images to be capture for further use. Each year, CanSat competitions are held and many participants from over the world joined. During these competitions held, the retrieval of the CanSat hardware have been prove to be tedious as the CanSat is easily sway by strong winds and unforeseen weather conditions. In year 2001, a new objective has been added to the competition which requires participants to retrieve their CanSat hardware after launched. This report will document the method adopted, the “Fly-Back” CanSat. While the CanSat is launched, a parafoils are often deployed to reduce the descending speed of the hardware. This is to allow longer air-borne time for the sensors installed on the CanSat to collect data and also to reduce hardware damage. With the appropriate parafoils attached, an autonomous landing system algorithm can be used to steer the CanSat to a designated landing area for retrieval. Finally, the report will conclude with the test results, analysis and recommendations for future development. In the process of the developing the CanSat prototype, many challenges and problems were encountered. However, with the assistant and ideas provided by the staffs and professors in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), many of these problems and challenges are tackled.