CanSat

The CanSat Competition is an engineering challenge where teams design and build a miniature satellite about the size of a soda can. The satellite is launched to around 1 km in altitude and has to complete a scientific mission while safely descending back to Earth.

As a team, we developed a satellite with two cameras: one normal visible-spectrum camera and one infrared camera. Both cameras were mounted on a rotating platform, which allowed the satellite to capture 360° images of the surrounding terrain during descent. Our goal was to use this data to generate a topographical map showing terrain features such as elevation changes, peaks, and water bodies.

To make this work, we designed our own electronics, custom PCBs, software stack, and mechanical structure from the ground up. During development, we also created and tested the image-processing pipeline needed for terrain reconstruction. This showed that the captured images could be used to model the surrounding environment and detect different terrain features.

The satellite performed reliably during the competition and successfully collected and transmitted primary mission data. We presented the project at the national CanSat finals, where our team placed 5th overall.

I led a team of five students through the planning, development, testing, and integration phases of the project.

Besides leading the team, I was responsible for the mechanical design of the satellite enclosure. I used Fusion 360 and Onshape to create detailed 3D models of the housing and worked closely with the electronics team to make sure every component fit properly within the strict CanSat size limits. During the design process, I also used in-software stress simulations and design validation to check the structural strength of important parts before manufacturing them.

I was also heavily involved in hardware integration. I assembled the full PCB stack by hand, soldered SMD components, and carried out the first power-up procedures and hardware checks. To support testing, I developed parts of the initial C++ testing software used to verify PCB functionality and make sure the main subsystems worked correctly before being integrated into the satellite.

I also designed and built a custom drone release mechanism, which allowed us to perform full-system flight testing before the competition. With this system, we carried out multiple parachute deployment tests and complete CanSat drop tests, helping us validate both the recovery system and the integration of all onboard subsystems in more realistic conditions.

Throughout the project, I coordinated communication between team members, tracked progress, organized tasks, and helped make sure that everyone’s work matched the overall mission goals. As team lead, I was responsible for keeping development on schedule while balancing technical requirements, manufacturing limits, and mission objectives.

The project came with both organizational and technical challenges.

One of the biggest organizational challenges was that one team member was located in Norway. Because of this, we had to rely a lot on online communication and clear documentation to make sure everyone stayed aligned during development.

The team also sometimes disagreed on technical decisions, especially around software architecture and implementation. In these situations, I helped guide discussions, listened to different opinions, and worked with the team to choose solutions that balanced technical quality with the actual project requirements.

On the technical side, our first PCB revision did not work as expected, so parts of the electronics system had to be redesigned and tested again. The mechanical design was also demanding, and the enclosure went through more than fifteen iterations before we reached a final version that satisfied all mission requirements.

Another major challenge was designing a reliable parachute attachment mechanism within the very limited space inside the satellite. After testing and evaluating different approaches, I developed a compact solution using a steel support pin sandwiched between two carbon-fiber-reinforced rotating plates. This created a secure attachment point while still fitting within the project’s size constraints.