The fifth Catalan final of the European Space Agency’s #CanSat competition has arrived, once again breaking participation records with 135 registered teams
Up to 150 secondary school, high school, and vocational training students from across Catalonia, guided by their teachers, will participate next Saturday, March 29, in the Catalan final of the CanSat competition, which will take place at Lleida-Alguaire Airport (Lleida). The event will be attended by Sandra Ruiz, Director General of Economy and Digital Society of the Government of Catalonia; Jordi Voltas, Director of ESEIAAT-UPC; and Xavier Gómez, Director of Lleida-Alguaire Airport, as well as other representatives from the organizing and collaborating entities.
CanSat is a competition promoted across Europe by the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) of the European Space Agency (ESA) and consists of the design, construction, and launch of small satellites the size of a soda can.
The Escola Superior d’Enginyeries Industrial, Aeroespacial i Audiovisual de Terrassa (ESEIAAT) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) organizes the national qualifying phase of the competition in Catalonia, with the support of the Secretariat for Digital Policies of the Department of Business and Labor. This support is part of Catalonia’s NewSpace Strategy and aims to generate interest in space, technology, and STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) among young people. CanSat Catalunya is also supported by the Department of Education and Vocational Training, the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), Lleida-Alguaire Airport, and Aeroclub Anoia.
The CanSat Catalunya competition, now in its fifth edition, has established itself as one of the country’s major scientific and technological events aimed at young people. In its first edition, 14 teams registered; in the second, 50 teams; in the third, 70 teams participated, and last year’s edition saw 108 teams. This year, a record-breaking 135 teams from 68 educational centers across Catalonia have registered.
After a preliminary evaluation of the submitted projects, 18 finalist teams have been selected to take part in the rocket launch final and compete for victory this Saturday at Lleida-Alguaire Airport. In total, over 150 secondary school, high school, and vocational training students, guided by their teachers, will participate in the launch event.
Throughout the school year, these young engineering talents have dedicated their skills to designing and building small satellites that integrate telemetry, sensors, and data transmission systems, all within the size constraints of a soda can.
The 18 finalist teams will present their results on April 2 at ESEIAAT, where they will showcase their findings before a panel of judges. On the same day, the winning team will be selected to represent Catalonia in the national CanSat final in Galicia next June. The winner of the national phase will then go on to represent Spain at the European CanSat event in Noordwijk, Netherlands.
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