Young engineers from across the UK launched their own miniature satellites at Westcott Venture Park this week as the UK CanSat competition returned to the home of UK rocket propulsion, with BBC’s The One Show on hand to film the action.
More than 400 students aged between 14 and 19 travelled to Westcott to take part in the event, designing, building and launching their CanSats aboard rockets as part of the national competition organised by ESERO-UK (European Space Education Resource Office, UK).
The programme filmed teams preparing their satellites, carrying out final checks and seeing their satellites launched on rockets throughout the day, with interviews including The UK Space Agency and STEM Learning recorded for the broadcast on 10 March.
The CanSat competition offers students their first practical experience of working on a real space project. Teams are responsible for every stage of development including defining the mission objectives, designing the CanSat, integrating the components, testing, preparing for launch and analysing the data following recovery.
Participants were tasked with designing a mini satellite complete with power, sensors and communication systems, all compacted into the size of a soft drink can. Beyond the primary satellite design, teams were also encouraged to devise a secondary mission inspired by real-world satellite projects.
Once their CanSats were ready, they were launched aboard small rockets before descending by parachute while collecting and transmitting data. The primary mission required teams to measure air pressure and temperature during descent, with the results sent back to ground stations for analysis.
This is the third year the national competition has taken place at Westcott. This year also saw the introduction of a new award recognising the teams that delivered the best engineered CanSats, celebrating excellence in design, build quality and technical performance.
Ben Jarvis, Chief Executive of Launch Access said: “The CanSat competition gives students a genuine experience of working on a space project, from design and testing through to launch and analysing the results.
“We regularly see students who had not previously considered a career in STEM become inspired by taking part, with some going on to study engineering or pursue careers within the space sector. Hosting launches at Westcott also helps show students the exciting opportunities that exist within the UK’s growing space industry.”
Westcott has been synonymous with rocket propulsion and space engineering for 80 years and today sits at the heart of the UK space sector. The site is home to the Westcott Space Cluster and the National Space Propulsion Test Facility, supporting a thriving community of companies developing launch and satellite technologies.
Nigel MacKenzie, Development Manager at Westcott said: “Encouraging the next generation of engineers is vital for the future of the UK space sector. The CanSat competition provides students with a unique hands-on experience of aerospace engineering while also highlighting the exciting opportunities available within the industry.”
Westcott also supports university rocket engineers through the annual Race2Space competition, organised by the University of Sheffield, which sees student teams testing rocket engines at the site each summer.
The UK CanSat competition runs across several launch sites during March, with the national finals taking place in May. The winning team will be invited to attend a European learning and celebration event organised by the European Space Agency.
