Monday, September 03, 2007

CanSat 2007 Results for WUSTL Team, and CanSat 2008 Prep for all Teams

I guess the new school year is starting. That means that CanSat competition challengers have to start getting busy to get ready for the 2008 CanSat Competition. In fact, the CanSat web site that I linked is already updated for 2008, even though the launch event isn't until June 13-15 2008. Applications are due soon - October 21, 2007.

The prizes are:

First place - $2500
Second Place - $1500
Third Place - $1000
Fourth Place - $750
Fifth Place - $500

Here's an article posted not too long ago (Aug 9 - maybe the school paper wasn't being published during the competition during break?) about the Washington University in St. Louis team doing well in the 2007 competition. The team was organized in an Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering class, and used a

""spring-loaded wing" concept, by which the CanSat descends as an unpowered helicopter (autorotation similar to how a maple seed falls to the ground)"

instead of a parachute. You can see more about the team's work at their CanSat Project site, as well as their Preliminary Design Review slides and Pre-Flight Progress Report.