PROJECT RECONNAISSANCE (CanSat)

CONFIDENTIAL:

Attention fellow aerospace enthusiast. The government has warranted a special project to be undertaken to prepare a multi-utility aerial reconnaissance payload. The project is so sensitive, it mustn’t be handled by our conventional engineers. The challenge is to build a satellite so small and secretive , it just might be mistaken for a can… build a picosatellite the size of a can, give it an objective practical enough to implement, ethereal enough to inspire, utilitarian enough to employ or in the least, good enough to fly. The flight systems are ready, the trouble and the opportunity is at the horizon. Are you good enough to build it? Over and out.

MISSION OVERVIEW

The mission is to build a CanSat that shall be used on a quad-copter to take images and collect sensor data during its flight. Teams do not have to design the quad-rotor. A Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) quad-copter (DJI Phantom) shall be used for the CanSat flight.
The CanSat shall be mounted on the base of the quad-copter. The CanSat flight shall last 15 minutes, during which the CanSat shall have to operate continuously. The event shall be conducted over 3 days.

Timeline	Activity
Day 1	Flight Readiness Review
Day 2	Flight
Day 3	Post-Flight Review

RULES

The CanSat shall weight no more than 500gm. A penalty shall be awarded in case the CanSat weights more than allowed limit.
No pyro techniques or chemical based sensors, actuators or elements may be used in the CanSat.
The volume of the CanSat shall be no more than 750 ml.
Any protrusions out of the said limit of volume shall be allowed only based on the review of the judging team.
The cost of development and all heads of expenses must be clearly reported.
If a team plans to transmit data wirelessly the communication protocol must be followed.
The structural design of the CanSat must accommodate for the interfacing of the CanSat to the quad-copter. Teams who do not comply with structural interfacing of the CanSat to the quad-copter may not get an opportunity to fly.
Battery voltage must be wirelessly transmitted by teams who choose transmission of data wirelessly. Teams that store data on-board shall have to implement a circuit to cut-off power when the battery voltage turns low.

TEAM COMPOSITION AND SIZE

Team composition	Number of allowed members
Only under-graduate students	3-10 students
Only post-graduate students	3-5 students
Mix of under-graduate and postgraduateStudents	7 under-graduate & 3 post-graduate students