What is This Program?

CanSat Leader Training Program (CLTP) is a training course to experience whole cycle of CanSat development from design to launch by model rocket. Textbooks in each language will be published as one outcome.

This program is designed for researchers and educators in space engineering to contribute to capacity building in space technology and improve teaching methods based on space engineering education.

This program is aimed at those who wish to learn/experience the following:

  • Skills in space engineering education
  • Effective hands-on training
  • Whole process of CanSat building in one month
  • Japanese system engineering in Japan

We intend to spread CanSat-based space education to the world. Participants are expected to promote CanSat education program in their countries.

This program is held as a part of sub-theme 7 of main-theme "New Paradigm of Space Development and Utilization Opened by Micro/Nano-satellites with Reasonably Reliable Systems 'Hodoyoshi' Concept", selected as the Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology (called FIRST Program) led by Cabinet Office, Government of Japan.

UNISEC (University Space Engineering Consortium) and Wakayama University are organizing the whole course.

What is CanSat?

"CanSat" is a soda can size satellite.

CanSat provides an affordable way to acquire students with the basic knowledge and experience many challenges in building a satellite. Students design and build a small electronics and communication system that can fit inside a soda can.

CanSat is launched and ejected from a rocket or a balloon. By the use of a parachute, CanSat slowly descends back to the earth while performing its mission and transmitting telemetry to the ground station. Post launch and recovery data acquisition will allow the students to analyze the cause of success and/or failure.

Advantages of CanSat-Based Space Education

CanSat is an effective tool for education in terms of the following:

  • Relatively low cost
  • Students can experience whole process: To design, manufacture, test, launch and analyze
  • Easy and cheap experiment with balloon/rocket
  • Teaching methods can be adjusted to suit students' level (Needs and abilities of high school students and graduate students are different)
  • Students can analyze reasons of failure and success as CanSat come back to the ground