CanSat

Also known as CanSat, ARLISS

Sub-orbital training device built inside a 66 × 115 mm beverage-can envelope (~350 g) and lofted by balloon, sounding rocket or drone to rehearse end-to-end satellite engineering.

Document
SQ-FF-006
Updated
21 Oct 2026
Reading time
1 min
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Definition and educational role#

A CanSat is a non-orbital satellite simulator integrated inside the volume of a standard beverage can ( diameter by height, , mass )[1]. Unlike a PocketQube or CubeSat, a CanSat never reaches orbital velocity: it is lofted to 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 CubeSat standard (1999) and later the PocketQube standard (2009)[3].

References

  1. [1]Twiggs, R. J. (2009). Making it small: the PocketQub. CubeSat Developers’ Workshop, San Luis Obispo (archived presentation).web.archive.org(accessed 20 October 2026)
  2. [2]NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative. (2017). CubeSat 101: Basic Concepts and Processes for First-Time CubeSat Developers. NASA.nasa.gov(accessed 20 October 2026)
  3. [3]nadir lab. (2026). PocketQube picosatellites: A review of standards, mission trends and miniaturization constraints, with lessons learned from Grizu-263A, Türkiye’s first PocketQube [Preprint]. nadir lab.Read on nadir lab.

Cite this SatWiki entry

@misc{nadirlab2026cansat,
  author       = {{nadir lab.}},
  title        = {{CanSat}},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = oct,
  howpublished = {nadir lab. SatWiki SQ-FF-006 (Rev. 1)},
  url          = {https://nadirlab.space/en/wiki/cansat/}
}