CanSat

Definition and educational role

A CanSat is a non-orbital satellite simulator integrated inside the volume of a standard beverage can ($66\text{mm}$ diameter by $115\text{mm}$ height, $\approx 393{\text{cm}}^3$, mass $300\text{-}350\text{g}$)[1]. Unlike a PocketQube or CubeSat, a CanSat never reaches orbital velocity: it is lofted to $0.5\text{-}4\text{km}$ by a small sounding rocket, captive balloon or multi-rotor drone, ejected at apogee and recovered under a parachute while transmitting live telemetry to a portable ground station[2].

Robert J. Twiggs proposed the concept in 1998 at the University Space Systems Symposium (USSS) in Hawaii, and the first ARLISS (A Rocket Launch for International Student Satellites) flights took place at Black Rock Desert, Nevada, in September 1999[1]. That hands-on progression led directly to the $10\text{cm}$ CubeSat standard (1999) and later the $5\text{cm}$ PocketQube standard (2009)[3].

Subsystems shared with a 1P PocketQube

Although a CanSat operates in $1\text{atm}$ convective air rather than high vacuum and free-molecular flow, four subsystem disciplines carry over directly to a $1\text{P}$ PocketQube project[3]:

1. Power bus and umbilical inhibit: A single $3.7\text{V}$ Li-ion or LiPo cell, a mechanical remove-before-flight (RBF) pull pin and current telemetry mirror the inhibit architecture of an orbital EPS.
2. Packet radio and link margin: UHF/ISM transceivers ($433\text{MHz}$ or $868/915\text{MHz}$, FSK or LoRa) require the same framing, CRC validation and ground-station Yagi tracking used during LEO commissioning.
3. Shock and deployment loads: Ejection from a rocket fairing at $15\text{-}30g$ and parachute snatch force expose solder joints, connectors and battery mounts to mechanical transients comparable to launch vibration[2].
4. What changes in orbit: Moving from a CanSat to a $1\text{P}$ PocketQube removes convective cooling, introduces $5530$ thermal and battery eclipse cycles per year, requires low-outgassing materials ($\text{TML}\le 1\%$) and increases link range from $4\text{km}$ to $1500\text{km}$.