Back to Legacy Projects
2026 CanSat Competition
2026 CanSat Competition Season
For the 2026 International CanSat Competition, MinneSat built an autonomous paraglider payload that separated from its container at 80% of peak altitude, steered toward a target using GPS, and released a protected instrument 2 meters above the ground. The team validated it with hardware-in-the-loop simulation and environmental testing before competing in Virginia.
Achievements
- PDR scored 1st among U.S. teams
- Autonomous GPS-guided paraglider payload
- Passed environmental testing: shock, thermal, vibration, and vacuum
- Competed at the International CanSat Competition in Virginia
Leadership Team
Franklin Woolley
President
Nathan Johnson
Software Lead
Martin Michelli
Electrical Lead
John Kronkvist
Mechanical Lead
Team Members
- Franklin Woolley
- Nate Johnson
- Martin Michelli
- John Kronkvist
- Alexander Kim
- Andrew Stotz
- Spenser Chinn
- Sam Holm
- Kyle Kemble
- Isaac Fouts
Project Gallery
2026 CanSat team
2026 CanSat project work
2026 CanSat testing
2026 CanSat field work
2026 CanSat team activity
2026 CanSat competition
