Main Page

From CanSat
Jump to: navigation, search
CanSat

This wiki presents a possible setup for the Swiss CanSat competition.

Development

The work consists to build a system in the shape of a soda can which will be launched at about 1 km altitude. As a primary mission, the CanSat will log temperature and pressure during the whole flight. Additionally, a secondary mission is defined by each competition group.

Additionally to the system engineering, the work comprises the development of:

Electronics

CanSat kit

The CanSat electronics bases on a kit comprising:

Buzzer and battery are not provided as they have to be dimensioned and chosen by the users.

The developers should have access to:

  • a welding station
  • micro-USB cables
  • tools (screwdrivers, pliers, ...)

Software

If using the Raspberry Pi pico, the developers should install:

Housing

The system must fit inside a cylindrical enclosure of 115 mm height and 66 mm diameter.

The mass of the CanSat is limited to 350 grams.

The antennas, transducers and other devices of the CanSat cannot oversize the can diameter until it leaves the launching system. The deployable subsystems and recovery system can exceed the length of the primary structure, up to a maximum length of 230 mm.

The Swiss Kit housing weighs about 100 g. It comprises:

  • a botton plate and a top plate
  • 6 walls
  • 12 M3 bolts and screws

Getting started

Obviously, the first step is to go through the specifications.

Next, the structure of the team has to be defined. It is of usual practice to have one responsible team member who knows what each group (electronics, mechanics, ...) is doing and what information he has to share between the groups.

Electronics

Some of the boards are programmed using MicroPython. Adafruit maintains a variant called circuitPython. A common development IDE is Mu Editor which works on different operating systems, including linux and Windows.

Start by;

Enclosure

The enclosure will have to withstand a landing. A first model can be built and tested to fall on grass and then on concrete. Obviously, this first enclosure has to be filled with ballast in order to weigh about 300 g.

Parachute

The parachute design can also start from the first day.

Links

Kits :

presentations: