The mission of the landers built for the CanSat Competition 2018, co-organized by NASA, was a simulation of entering a planet’s atmosphere. It was the fourth consecutive edition of the competition that we participated in, and the second one hosted by Tarleton State University in Texas. The competition in the 2017/2018 academic year gained more reach and prestige than ever before. Solidbrain became the strategic partner for our project.
Probes in the form of planetary landers, created for the CanSat Competition, aim to familiarize students with the preparation and execution of real space missions. This assumption dictates the format of the documentation, testing of the construction, and the evaluation process. The first two stages of the competition involve writing Design Review and Critical Design Review documents and presenting them during a teleconference with judges from NASA. During the final, which takes place in Texas, the team must present the probe’s components in terms of regulatory requirements and safety issues. Then, rocket launches take place, after which the mission results and conclusions are presented. The tasks set before participants change slightly each year, but the competition format remains unchanged.
Mission of the CanSat 2018 probe:
To simulate the mission of entering a planet’s atmosphere, the probe had to be equipped with a thermal shield. The material used did not have actual insulating properties, but the teams were required to focus on its deployment, as the CanSat had to fit within the rocket’s compartment with dimensions of 125 mm in diameter and 310 mm in height.
To maintain stable orientation during the flight, the center of mass of the structure was positioned as low as possible. The opening of the thermal shield was based on a system that extended the inner part of the probe, which stretched the material over the structure. This also helped lower the center of gravity.
The lander was designed to carry a raw egg, simulating a valuable, fragile payload that had to be protected from cracking. A polyurethane foam compartment was created for this purpose and tested in several drops.
The onboard electronics were tasked with collecting data on temperature, pressure, acceleration, and GPS coordinates, communicating with the ground station via Xbee, and displaying the transmitted values in real-time. The deployment of the thermal shield after ejection from the rocket was controlled by a system based on readings from a light sensor. Additionally, a video was filmed during the mission, and the camera lens was shielded when the CanSat ejected the thermal shield.
In the competition final, our CanSat performed almost all tasks successfully, and the egg survived, but there were some errors. The system responsible for tensioning the thermal shield partially got stuck during the flight, which prevented its later separation.
The competition during CanSat Competition 2018 was of an exceptionally high level. To reach the final, teams had to score at least 94% in the first stage of the competition. AGH Space Systems scored 96.36% for the Preliminary Design Review and 92.63% for the Critical Design Review. Additionally, we received high marks in all final stages. The biggest loss of points came from an unfortunate delay in submitting the Post Flight Review presentation on the final day of the competition, which resulted in the loss of about five positions.
In the CanSat Competition 2018, AGH Space Systems placed 14th out of 105 teams.
Leader: Weronika Mrozińska
Mechanical Section: Adam Kolusz, Kornel Kowalczyk, Weronika Mrozińska, Dagmara Stasiowska
Electronics Section: Damian Kadłuczka, Mateusz Rajzer, Jacek Garbuliński
Ground Station Section: Jacek Garbuliński
Logistics and Marketing Section: Weronika Mrozińska