CanSat Program
A CanSat is a satellite compressed into the size of a standard beverage can — small enough that students build the whole thing themselves, and real enough that it teaches actual mission design, not a simplified version of it.
What it is
"CanSat" is short for "can satellite" — a miniature satellite system built to fit inside a can, used to teach the fundamentals of satellite design, construction, and operation. It carries sensors and a communication system, just like a full-size satellite, at a scale a student can actually hold and troubleshoot.
How it flies
A CanSat never reaches orbit. It's deployed by rocket or high-altitude balloon to a fraction of the altitude a real satellite would need, then falls back to Earth collecting data the whole way down. That short flight is enough to teach the core of the job: design a payload, integrate the sensors, collect the data, and make sense of what came back.
The hardware
Click any photo to see it full size.
