Astropeep, comprising of 11 students from the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Science Engineering has earned the distinction of being selected for the final launch in the prestigious first of its kind CANSAT India student competition held across India. On April 15, 2024, the team executed a flawless satellite launch using the NAL-CSIR drone and subsequently executed a successful recovery operation.
The CANSAT India student competition held by ISRO and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) challenged students to design, develop, and demonstrate a working model satellite weighing less than 700 grams. Additionally, it required the inclusion of a mechanical gyro-control system capable of managing the descent of the CANSAT, with its parachute activating at a height of approximately 500 meters during descent.
The team Astropeep from IITRAM, under the supervision of Dr. Abhishek Rawat, successfully met these criteria by leveraging in-house 3D printing technology available at CoE – Drone Technology to expedite development while reducing the cost. Equipped with high-resolution Accelerometer, Gyro, Temperature, Altitude, and GPS sensors, the CANSAT transmitted all these sensory data in real-time by telemetry to the ground station.
Despite encountering several obstacles from mechanical design to coding, the Team persevered to achieve its goals.