Project-based space engineering education: Application to autonomous rover-back CanSat

Abstract

This paper presents a project-based space engineering education project that is currently conducted at space systems technology laboratory (SSTLab) at aerospace engineering department, Cairo University. An autonomous rover-back is advanced educational project and currently under continuous development by the students finished their CanSat Training Program (CTP) at SSTLab. The mission of the autonomous rover-back CanSat is to return back to a prescribed target point on the ground after launching into a suborbital altitude of approximately 4000 meters. The total weight of the system should be less than 1 kg and a diameter of approximately 140 mm with length of approximately 250 mm. The rover-back CanSat will have a fully autonomous control of its attitude and trajectory in both the flight and ground segments. The paper presents the essential development areas in this project and the lessons learned. © 2013 IEEE.