CanSat
A satellite mission the size of a drink can.
Course
Design a can-sized payload that measures, transmits and descends safely: sensors, power, radio, parachute and mission operations in miniature.
Before you start
- School arithmetic
- Curiosity about electronics; no prior coding needed
Learning objectives
- Explain what a CanSat is and how it differs from a rocket
- Plan a primary mission (measure and transmit) and a secondary mission of your own
- Explain how air pressure tells you altitude
- Explain how a parachute sets the descent speed
By the end you can
- Can explain every part of a CanSat
- Can turn a pressure reading into a height estimate
Before you start
- Foundation level of this track
- Square roots and exponents
- Some programming helps
Learning objectives
- Use the standard-atmosphere relation to convert pressure to altitude
- Size a parachute from a target descent rate
- Write a power budget for a full mission with margin
- Design a telemetry packet and a ground-station display
By the end you can
- Can design a CanSat's descent and power systems from equations
- Can document a mission so another team could fly it
Lesson plan
Lessons · Ages 14–16
What is a CanSat?
- A satellite mission in a can-sized volume
- Primary and secondary missions
Sensors
- Temperature
- Pressure and altitude
- Logging data
Talking to the ground
- Simple radio links
- Packets of data
Coming down safely
- Drag
- Parachute size
- Landing speed
Hands-on activities
- Log temperature and pressure while carrying a sensor up and down a staircase
- Drop paper parachutes of three sizes from the same height and time them
Challenge: Parachute Lab
Choose a parachute size so a 300 g model lands at a gentle speed (the target is set in class).
Pass criteria
- Measured descent speed within the target range in two of three drops
- A table of results with units
Physics and mathematics
Show the 2 equations
Δp ≈ 12 Pa per metre
Pa
Air pressure drops by roughly 12 pascals for every metre you climb near the ground, about 1.2 kPa per 100 m.
v = d ÷ t
m/s
Time the fall from a known height to find the average descent speed.
3D models
- CanSat stack: battery, microcontroller, sensors, radio, parachute (planned for Academy)
Lessons · Ages 17–18
Atmosphere and altitude
- International Standard Atmosphere
- Calibrating to the launch-site pressure
Descent design
- Terminal velocity
- Drag coefficient
- Parachute sizing
Power and electronics
- Battery capacity
- Current draw
- Mission duration
Telemetry and operations
- Packet design
- Ground-station software
- Post-flight analysis
Hands-on activities
- Calibrate a pressure sensor against a known height and measure its error
- Size a parachute for 300 g at 8 m/s, build it, and test it
Challenge: Descent and Data
Size the parachute and the power budget for a CanSat that must transmit once per second for its whole descent.
Pass criteria
- Parachute area within 10% of the reference calculation
- Power budget positive with at least 20% margin
- Packet format documented field by field
Physics and mathematics
Show the 3 equations
h = 44,330 × [1 − (p ÷ p₀)^(1/5.255)]
h in m, p and p₀ in Pa
A standard-atmosphere approximation; set p₀ to the pressure at the launch site.
v = √(2mg ÷ (ρ × C_d × A))
v in m/s, ρ ≈ 1.225 kg/m³ at sea level, A in m²
Descent speed falls as the canopy area grows.
E = V × Q
E in Wh, V in volts, Q in Ah
Compare with the energy the mission needs, plus margin.
3D models
- CanSat stack with parachute deployment (planned for Academy)
Classes and workshops
Online
Self-paced tutorials now; live online classes planned.
In person
CanSat workshop planned. Dates, venue, fees, eligibility and safety arrangements will be published for each workshop.
Existing tutorials for this track
Eligibility, independence and privacy
- Independent initiative. Space Academy is part of an independent ISHAVASYAM.ORG education initiative. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or run on behalf of ISRO, IN-SPACe, NSIL or the Department of Space.
- No competition eligibility. Learning here does not register anyone for, or make anyone eligible for, any national or international competition. Each competition's organisers set its rules and eligibility.
- Simulated and illustrative. Interactive missions use simplified models and simulated, illustrative values. They are labelled as such and are not flight data.
- Ages. Written for learners aged 14 to 18. Anyone may play the self-paced missions; enquiries from under-18s need a parent or guardian.
- Privacy. Missions never ask for a name, school, age or contact details. Progress is stored only in this browser and can be cleared at any time. This site uses Google Analytics to count page visits and mission steps. Some of the site's existing tutorials ask visitors to sign in with a Google account. If you are under 18, check with a parent or guardian before signing in.