About the Student CanSat Competition
Check out this short video to get a taste of what it’s like and hear from student competitors!
The AAS Student CanSat Competition provides university students with a unique, real-world aerospace engineering experience. This annual international competition challenges teams to design, build, test, and launch a simulated satellite payload that must meet specific mission requirements. Through the complete engineering lifecycle—from concept development and systems integration to flight operations—students gain valuable technical expertise while strengthening their teamwork, leadership, and project management skills.
Although similar competitions exist for other fields of engineering (robots, radio-control airplanes, racing cars, etc.), most space-related competitions are paper design competitions. The AAS’s Student CanSat Competition gives university students the satisfaction of being involved with the end-to-end life cycle of a complex engineering project, from conceptual design, through integration and test, actual operation of the system and concluding with a post-mission summary and debrief.
This annual competition is open to teams from universities and colleges across the world. Teams must be able to design and build a space-type system, following the approved competition guide, and then compete against each at the end of two semesters to determine the winners. Teams are responsible for funding the construction of their CanSat and all travel/lodging expenses. Rockets are provided by AAS.
Registration Is Now Open for the 2026–2027 CanSat Competition
Form your team. Start designing. Get ready to launch.
Sponsorships are available for CanSat 2027!
Support the next generation of aerospace leaders by sponsoring CanSat 2027. Showcase your commitment to STEM/STEAM education while connecting with future industry talent.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, sponsorships are tax-deductible as permitted by law.
For more information, contact AAS at cansatadmin@astronautical.org or +1 (703) 866-0354.
For additional detailed information, visit the Official Competition Website.
2026–2027 Competition Guide: Available here now!
2027 Competition Dates: June 10–13, 2027
