Students from the IPN achieved 3rd place in the CanSat Competition 2023

Laura Esquivel

Students from the Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica (ESIME) at the Ticomán and Azcapotzalco Units, and from the Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria en Ingeniería y Tecnologías Avanzadas (UPIITA), who form the team "Cuauhtémoc," represented the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) in the CanSat Competition 2023 held in the United States, specifically at Virginia Tech. This competition aims to challenge participants to design, build, and launch a canned satellite, involving a complex engineering project that simulates a real aerospace mission.

The CanSat Competition is organized by the American Astronautical Society (AAS) in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), through its Goddard Space Flight Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as well as the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (Washington D.C.), and companies including Siemens: Ingenuity for life, Ball, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Aerospace & Technologies, Kratos ISI, New River Valley Rocketry, and Praxis Inc.

The "Cuauhtémoc" team is led by Professor and M.Sc. Héctor Díaz García, who is in charge of the Aerospace Integration and Testing Laboratory. The team is composed of students: Eduardo Gutiérrez, Francisco Castro, Emiliano Alamilla, Adonai Cortes, Axel Martínez, Atzin Ariel Martínez, Jesús Flores, José Pablo Estrada, Kenneth Aarón, Leonardo Zúñiga, David Bautista, Leslie Ariadna Rosas, Luis Ramírez, Arturo Ortega, Alison Ramírez, and Josué Mendoza. They achieved the third position in the final ranking of the competition, competing against the best universities worldwide.

Eduardo Gutiérrez, the captain of the "Cuauhtémoc" team, explained that this year's competition required the satellite to release a payload system. Once the mission was launched and the CanSat reached an altitude between 800 and 1000 meters, it was required to release an airbrake to reduce the descent speed to 15 meters per second.

Subsequently, at 500 meters per second, the payload would detach from the container with the help of a parachute, decreasing its speed to 5 meters per second. This setup allowed the payload to land upright and stand on its own to release a pennant, signaling the successful completion of the mission. Throughout the mission, telemetry data such as pressure, temperature, position, acceleration, ascent, and descent were transmitted.

One notable aspect of the prototype presented by the IPN students in the CanSat Competition 2023 was the programming of their software. They utilized microcontrollers with C language for sensor logic, while the ground station (a terrestrial radio station for telecommunications) was supported by Java with FX extension. This innovative approach provided them with an advantage in interpreting their data more efficiently. Additionally, this small yet effective change allowed the "Cuauhtémoc" team to have a lighter prototype that met the competition's specifications.

Professor Héctor Díaz García mentioned that reaching this competition was not easy, but thanks to the support from the Fundación Politécnico, it became possible. He also acknowledged the assistance from the authorities of ESIME and UPIITA, as well as the former captains and sub-captains from previous editions of the CanSat Competition: Andrés Rivera, Héctor Gallardo, Nicole Jiménez, Leonardo Leyva, José Álvarez, and Alain González, whose contributions allowed the members of the "Cuauhtémoc" team to participate in the prestigious 2023 edition of this important contest.

The young students from IPN demonstrated their knowledge and skills to compete at the international level.

Gaceta Politécnica #1733. 2023, June 30th. IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in spanish here