IIIT-H Wins Global Aerospace Competition CanSat 2010

Mon, 06/28/2010 - 10:27 — admin
IIIT-H Wins CanSat 2010 – Makes India Proud !
CanSat is a NASA Sponsored International Aerospace Competition
June 13, 2010

IIIT-H's team Mission Gaganyaan has been ranked FIRST at the global aerospace competitionCanSat 2010, which has seen participation from premier Universities from across the world, at Amarillo, Texas, USA, on June 13, 2010.

IIIT-H team is the ONLY one from India and the FIRST from ASIA to win this global competition.

CanSat 2010: Mission

The CanSat 2010, organized by the American Astronautical Society and sponsored by NASA, required teams to design, fabricate, and launch into the lower space an autonomous micro-satellite carrying a large raw egg of a hen intact, for the entire duration of the flight – from launch to landing.
Some of the other tough competition conditions that Mission Gaganyaan has successfully negotiated are
  • The descent control system should not use a parachute, para-foil, or any similar device.
  • During the flight and descent, data should be transmitted once every five seconds to the Central Ground Station.
A total of 19 leading Universities from around the world, including the Pennsylvania State University, Michigan Technological University, University of Nebraska, Queen's University, and University of Michigan, participated in the competition.
By this incomparable accomplishment at the premier international aerospace competition, Mission Gaganyaan has undoubtedly made India mighty proud. IIIT-H is glad to have contributed to India's growing global brand in the area of science and technology (S&T) research.

“IIIT-H encourages and makes it possible for even the undergraduate students to do research – an opportunity unprecedented in India. The current milestone is yet another outcome of the leading edge research opportunities for bachelors' students too at IIIT-H,” Prof. Rajeev Sangal, Director, IIIT-H.

A unique feature about the team is it has consisted of undergraduate students entirely from the electronics and communications engineering (ECE) program. This is a testimony to IIIT-H's commitment to offering the best and research intensive education to the bachelors' students.

Credit for the team's uncommon achievement is also due in large measure to the outstanding efforts, technical guidance, and mentorship of Prof. KS Rajan, Head of IIIT-H's Lab for Spatial Informatics (LSI).

Mission Gaganyaan at CanSat 2010
The IIIT-H team, very ably led by Prof. KS Rajan, comprised of nine undergraduate students from the electronics and communications engineering (ECE). The team worked very diligently for the last six months on various aspects of the design, fabrication, and testing of the micro-satellite - IIIT-H's CanSat - to compete with some of the best teams from around the world.

The team worked on all components in the design of the system - sensors, communications and their integration, body design and descent mechanisms, and the ground control station.

The team had been much appreciated for its robust design and innovative approach during the Preliminary Design Review (PDR), Hardware Review, and Critical Design Review (CDR), which were the earlier stages of the CanSat competition. The Flight Demonstration and Post Flight Review (PFR), which constituted the later stages of the competition, earned the team all round recognition.

More details of the team can accessed at http://web.iiit.ac.in/~robotics/CanSat2010/index.html

Mission Gaganyaan - Members
Team Guide, Mentor, and Faculty Advisor
Prof. KS Rajan, Associate Professor & Head, Lab for Spatial Informatics, IIIT-H
Team Leader
Jairaj Bhattacharya, also Team Lead, Mechanical Design
Undergraduate, ECE, final-year
Deputy Team Leader
Rishabh Ranjan, also Team Lead, Electronic Design, Undergraduate, ECE, final-year

Team Members

Rupen Madanmohan Humad, Undergraduate, ECE, third-year
PS Abhimanyu, Undergraduate, ECE, third-year
Shashank Pandey, Undergraduate, ECE, third-year
Palash Jain, Undergraduate, ECE, second-year
Saumay Dublish, Undergraduate, ECE, second-year
Nikhil Soni, Undergraduate, ECE, second-year
Rahul Sachdev, Undergraduate, ECE, third-year
Sponsorship Support - Rockwell Collins and Infosys
IIIT-H and, in particular, Misssion Gaganyaan are highly grateful to Rockwell Collins India Design Center (Platinum Sponsor) and Infosys (Silver Sponsor) for enabling this achievement by lending partial financial support for the team's participation.
About CanSat Competition
CanSat is a NASA sponsored international competition, organized, each year, by American Astronautical Society, that allows student teams, from colleges and Universities around the world, to design, build and fly, according to the criteria spelled out the organizing committee, an aerospace system called CANSAT.

The CanSat competition is designed to reflect, on a small scale, a typical aerospace program. The competition features all aspects of an aerospace program from the preliminary design review to post mission review, and is designed to reflect various aspects of real world missions, including telemetry requirements, communications, firmware programming, and autonomous operations.

Teams are scored throughout the competition against real-world deliverables like schedules, design reviews, and flight demonstrations.

For more information about CanSat, check the competition web site at http://www.cansatcompetition.com/Main.html

IIIT-H Team's Performance at CanSat 2009
  • IIIT-H team is the first ever from India to qualify for participation at CanSat.
  • Finished eighth at the World Finals, ahead of MIT, University of Michigan, Virginia Tech, and several other top class US universities.
For CanSat 2009 final rankings, visit: http://www.cansatcompetition.com/2009_Winners.html.

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