Reflection - Frank Murphy

The CanSat project has been an excellent opportunity for each of the students to learn and explore a range of new skills that are specifically focused on what third level institutions offer and what industry requires, in a functioning workforce. On reflection, I am utterly amazed by what the team has absorbed in such a short period of time. It surely is a testament to their hard working ethic and is also a true indication of their natural flair in processing quite complex material in a practical manner.  

By nature the CanSat project is quite challenging technically and in general the students wouldn’t have come across any of the key skills from the kick-off, for example, sensor selection, calibration of sensors, coding, circuit design, soldering, and the integration of hardware and software in a working unit. All this needed to be unravelled in an organised fashion where the students firstly focused on the primary sensors. Thus when the students were presented with the primary sensors and microcontroller it was critical to provide an overview of the coding and the maths/physics of the sensors to generate data that could then be analysed and benchmarked against a proven source. All this was within the grasp of the students as they would have experienced Junior Certificate Coursework B Science practical’s where they would have become accustomed to working in a way that was systematic and methodical, in producing an end result. Therefore, using the student’s educational background and with the view of strengthening it, Anne O’Dea and I set about developing an inquiry and constructivist learning methodology in scaffolding the students in achieving their full potential and this ultimately helped pave the way for the secondary mission.

From my perspective a lot of work went into the selection of the secondary sensors. This by no means was an easy task as there were a number of constraints that needed to be factored in, for example, technical requirements of the CanSat project, costing, physical size, electrical power requirements and so on. This task also required an adept understanding of the datasheets that described the technical specifications of the sensors in terms of its working performance (a practice essential for an engineer). Huge credit goes to Chris for having developed the narrative and imagination in selecting these sensors and at the same time being mindful of their technical limitations and constraints. 

With the final selection of the sensors firmed up. Niall and Evan were instrumental with regards to the mechanical fit of the integrated electronics within the CanSat. This meant that a printed circuit board would be designed, a project in its own right. The design of the PCB can’t be underestimated as this was a huge undertaking (thanks to On Semiconductors for their huge support on this). In effect the whole idea of a PCB is to custom make an electronic board whereby the amount of external wiring can be reduced to a minimum and as a result reducing the risk of an open or short circuit which could have rendered the whole system useless. Niall, took the initiative of designing the schematic (wiring diagram) and I was hugely impressed with his skill and the manner in which he learned the software in generating the schematic. 

Of course there were always going to be technical problems in creating such a complex system. The key thing was to keep it in perspective and to deal with such issues in a pragmatic and logical approach. I feel this is where students made the connection with the academic work done in the classroom, i.e. in respect to how problems are rationalised and systematically reduced to smaller problems which are more manageable to deal with. For me this was a clear example of how high order thinking was utilised in a real practical sense to resolve problems. In addition, the students were capable of articulating solutions (a key aspect of Project Maths) and this is a real benefit in their examinations and of course working life for the future. 
Finally, the trip to Norway saw the team developing their technical presentation and we all spent many late nights and early mornings in perfecting the pitch. I strongly believe we tested and discussed in detail, the potential weaknesses that could have been exploited by the panel of technical experts. Thus when the team presented the presentation it was slick and business like.  Hugh was outstanding in all aspects of public speaking and he was a natural in ensuring that each individual achieved to the best of their ability. This in my mind showed excellent leadership skills.

The second presentation was an interpretation of the data acquired by the descend of the CanSat after deployment from the rocket. Again, students utilised their knowledge of interpreting graphs used in physics and in implementing a high degree of data analysis in making sense of the raw data generated. (Needless to say, the parachute was a vital link in this chain and Tayyaba did an amazing job in its creation.)  In essence, the data couldn’t have been any better as the physical data acquired replicated what the theoretical values specified in the literature. This was an excellent result and it showed that the Candroid CanSat was an outstanding success and worthy of finishing in the top three.

I would like to thank Ms Anne O’ Dea for her vision and pioneering spirit in pushing the boundaries in STEM education and for been the driving force behind the whole project. I would also like to thank Dr Cuddihy and Ms Fleming for their constant encouragement throughout and for their commitment in making the whole project a reality in the college. Thanks also to the sponsors and to the good will that was the spirit of the project.         

By Frank Murphy 

Reflection - Niall

I vividly remember the Tuesday morning when I first heard about CanSat. Ms. O’Dea told us about it in Physics. I love anything to do with engineering so I put my name down. Little did I know nine months later I would end up representing my school and my country in Norway.

It all began the Friday before the October mid-term break. Mr. Murphy, Chris and I travelled to the LifeTime Lab in Cork for the first workshop. Here we met Cathal who was our mentor from ON-Semiconductor. From that day on I have been travelling on one of the greatest adventures of my life, which culminated in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been; Andoya, Norway.

Chris and I worked throughout midterm and all the way up to Christmas getting a grasp of Arduino and the coding. In January Hugh and Tayyaba joined the team, much to our relief as neither of us would be able to design and make a parachute or make the quality presentations that Hugh can create.

The biggest challenge from day one was fitting everything in the can. After the competition in Birr we realised the way we were trying to do it wasn’t going to be sufficient for Norway. We decided to completely redesign our can. Thankfully at this stage Evan had joined the team.

I ventured into a new unknown, PCB design and manufacture. This involved schematics, design software such as Eagle and PADS, Gerber files and eventually a bare PCB that had to be populated. Thanks to help from Mr. Murphy and Cathal I designed a custom Arduino that suited our needs. This was a huge learning experience for me, and I know it will stand to me in future as I plan on working in the electronics industry.

Overall CanSat was an amazing experience and I am so thankful to have been a part of it. I would like to thank Cathal O’Lionaird and John Blake from ON-Semiconductor, the school and particularly Ms O’Dea, Mr Murphy for being there for us throughout the competition.

Niall

Reflection - Anne O'Dea

What an adventure it has been since last October!! From attending the first workshop in the Lifetime Lab in Cork to the announcement of the results of the European Final in Andoya on 5 June. My colleague Frank, our five students and I have travelled (metaphorically and literally) on a journey with many twists and turns, ups and downs but always with a common purpose and shared mission:  to represent to the best of our abilities our school and, subsequently, our country, in one of the most exciting competitions open to second level students in Europe.

There were the many challenges: the computer coding, getting familiar with the software, the making of the parachute, what seemed to be the impossible task of getting all the components to fit into the drinks can, getting a balance between regular school work and the demands of the project, designing and laying out a PCB, the apprehension over would the PCB stand up to the tests to which it would be subject, moments of anxiety as the deadline approached and the antenna had not yet arrived.

Despite the aforementioned, team spirit was steadfast. This was due in no small part to the contributions made by the team members and the school community: Tayyaba’s intricate stitching which resulted in our parachute being arguably the best made parachute of the competition; Evan’s positive response when asked to assist in our hour of need during the campaign and his conscientious approach to the eternal problem which is the mechanics of the can; Niall’s innate capacity to take on the challenge of the design and layout of a PCB,  Chris’ can-do attitude and relentless research of all aspects of the project  and Hugh’s brilliance as the Public Relations Officer and Coordinator who made the task look simple but only because of the meticulous preparation he carried out for every single step.  Frank always applied logic towards analysing and breaking down into small parts any of the technical problems which arose.  That is just the contribution made by the team members. The whole school community from Board of Management, staff, pupils both present and past, Team Rocket, parents and local industry all contributed in a positive  way and carried us along whenever there were difficulties.

As I look back over the past eight months, among the memories which I will cherish are Niall bursting into our make-shift work station at Andoya Rocket Range, waving the CanSat which had just been found and returned to its rightful owners; the stunning view of the snow capped mountains and fjords as were flew from Bodo to Andenes with almost total silence in the cabin as teams gazed in awe at the beauty below them;  then, on the return journey the scenery was still as beautiful  but this time the cabin was filled with the chatter between the different competing teams who were sharing their favourite moments of CanSat 2014 and their dreams for the future.

Anne O’Dea

                

Reflection - Chris

The CanSat experience was certainly one I'll never forget. 

I have learned lifetime skills. I have competed on an international stage for the first time in my life in anything, I have travelled to probably the most perfect place in the world and while all these things were amazing, certainly becoming so close to my team-mates was the best of the lot. 

I am really proud to have been a part of this team, big thanks to Ms O'Dea, Mr Murphy and Cathal for all their time and to all the sponsors and people that helped us as well. 

A big thanks to everyone in the school for following us and liking us on twitter, couldn't have done it without your support. Crescent abù!

By Chris 

Reflection - Hugh

I can vividly remember the day Chris asked me to join the CanSat team. I was asked to join as PRO and I was assured that I wouldn't need to understand coding. One meeting in and I knew that Chris had lied and that I’d have to learn about the technical side of things! Even though for the first few meetings I sat in the corner and was extremely confused, there was something about the project that drew me in. It was all very exciting – a satellite in a can!

Two weeks after I joined we had to give a preliminary presentation in Cork and I was put in charge of making the PowerPoint presentation. A big task in, my opinion. Once we got this presentation done, the project really grew on me. I’d already “launched” the project at school assembly so there was no going back!

The regional competition in Cork was really fun. Data streamed into the laptop and the CanSat safely descended. I finally got to explain and demonstrate all our outreach work. Looking back, I honestly would have been devastated if we lost. We had put in a lot of work and I knew there was so much more to learn.

At the national final, we were delighted to be representing Munster and weren't expecting to win. I thought that we had an awful lot of work done, our CanSat was technically sound and that we fulfilled all the outreach and testing requirements. However, there was something that made me doubt that we were going to win. After the presentation, I felt we’d actually done a great job. I felt we dealt with the judges’ questions exceptionally well. Whilst the judges were deliberating, the team went for a walk around the giant telescope in Birr Castle. I told the team we had won, I could feel it. Ten minutes later, Stephanie O’Neill announced that Crescent College Comprehensive had won the 2014 National CanSat Competition. One of the biggest moments in my life.

And then the real work started. Suddenly I was writing letters for sponsorship, crane drops, testing areas and even helicopters! CanSat went on tour! We were in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Birr – all over the place! The school really got behind us. Suddenly I was learning about PCBs, coding, calibration and mechanics. It was all really fascinating. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed learning about these various areas.

And then we shipped off to the Arctic Circle! I never thought I would be in the Arctic Circle. We had an amazing time. There were a lot of late nights, early starts and there was always work to be done.

It was strange to come back. What do I do now? I've learned that anything is possible through hard work. At the beginning of fifth year, I never would have thought that I would have been on the National CanSat team! I've learned about team work, organisation, project planning and communication. I've also learned an awful lot about space science, physics, engineering and electronics.

6 months ago, when I joined the team, I would have instantly ruled out a career in physics or maths but now, after CanSat, I've a lot of thinking to do!

By Hugh 

Reflection - Evan

Initially I joined the CanSat team as a “blood sub”. Niall had cut himself working on the CanSat and I was called in to help him with the mechanical side of things. I went to the launch in Birr and really enjoyed it.

After Candroid won the Nationals, Ms O’Dea asked me would I join the team as the workload would be significantly greater for the European Competition in Norway. I had enjoyed the day in Birr so much and the work I had done leading up to it that I jumped at the chance.

The CanSat experience taught me a lot. Other than the obvious mechanical and electronic engineering skills, it taught me a lot about project management, the importance of deadlines and how vital it is you communicate with the other team members about what you need to know and what they to know.

My favourite moment was watching our CanSat descending gracefully from the rocket in Norway! I was so afraid one of the important bolts was going to fall out, so the relief and joy I felt when I saw it still attached to the parachute was immense.

I really enjoyed Norway. It was such a great experience. When would you ever get the chance to visit Norway, let alone a rocket range in the Arctic Circle?! That was a once in a lifetime experience, seeing the Midnight Sun at two o’clock in the morning is something I’ll never forget.

CanSat has taught me a lot, and I’ll try to apply everything I learned from it when I get to the real world of work. 

By Evan 

Reflection - Tayyaba

I found the CanSat project to be great experience. When I first got involved it was just to broaden my knowledge and have a bit of fun, I never expected to get as far as we did. 

It was a great learning experience since I know so much more of physics, teamwork and designing. One of my favourite parts of the project was going to Norway and getting to represent my country. It was such a brilliant trip and I am so proud of what we achieved over there. It was also great to get to know the other teams and their views on the project. 

CanSat will definitely have an impact on my future. I would maybe like to generalize in sciences rather than just going into one specific field as result of CanSat. 

By Tayyaba 

Thank you to our sponsors

Team Candroid had 7 members (two teachers and five students). ESA only covers the cost of 5 members travelling to Norway. As a result, Candroid was actively seeking sponsorship during the weeks leading up to the European Final.

We extend a massive thank you to the following companies for their support:

• ON Semiconductor 
• Port of Cork
• Limerick Institute of Technology 
• University of Limerick 
• Analog Devices 
• Abrel Products 
• eNet
• Limerick Marketing Company 
• Apex Fire Ltd
• Horner APG

We also extend our word of thanks to all of our private/individual donors. 

By Candroid 

Day One

We left the hotel in Dublin at 07:30 yesterday morning. We managed to check in quickly and proceeded straight to our gate once past security. We arrived in Oslo at lunchtime and grabbed a bite to eat before our flight to Bodo. We landed in Bodo after 17:00 (Norwegian time - 1 hour ahead) and began the 5 hour wait. The preconceived idea of sleeping in Bodo was quickly abandoned and we spent the time preparing for our first presentation. After 22:00, we boarded the plane (which was more like a minibus with wings) and flew to Andenes.

The airport in Andenes is a military airport so photography was prohibited. We arrived at the centre at 23:30 and it was still broad daylight (we haven't seen darkness since Saturday night)! We worked through the evening thinking it was only 19:00 - turns out it was 01:30.

Up early at 07:20 and we had breakfast. The competition was opened by a Member of the Norwegian Parliament earlier this morning. We then met the adjudication panel.

We are team 12 and there are 14 teams competing. We are competing in the Beginners Category as opposed to the Advanced Category. Each team presented the work that has been done so far and what they expect to achieve. We are absolutely thrilled with how the presentation went.

As I type this, the CanSat is undergoing a final technical check before the examination by the judges.

Will keep you posted,
Hugh

Sensor Testing

To ensure that our sensors are working properly and that the wireless transmission is working, we enlisted the help of the Irish AirCorps.

At 12:30 today, an AirCorps helicopter touched down on the grounds of CCC. With over 150 spectators, there was huge excitement.

We had our ground station ready to go and we treated it like a trial run for next week's launch.

To avoid any damage to the CanSat, we placed the sensors connected to our old Arduino in a box and handed it to the crew. The YAGI Antenna was used to receive data.

The helicopter brought the sensors to a height of 1km. All of our sensors (temperature, pressure, humidity, GPS, magnetometer and ultrasonic) received data.

We have already tested the parachute with a crane drop and a tensile testing machine.

All systems go for Norway! (literally)

By Hugh

Parachute Testing

We needed to test the parachute to make sure it could withstand the maximum weight of the can.

I made copies of the parachute to test the material binding and string strength. We wanted to see which was the weakest point in the parachute, the string strength or the material binding.

We tested the parachute at Limerick Institute of Technology using a tensile-testing machine. We first tested the string strength to see how much strain it could withstand.  There were two clamps that clamped onto the strings and one moved upward slowly pulling it apart while the computer calculated the strain. It estimated to be about 150 newton.
We than tested the one string with binding attached, using the same method, once again the amount weight the string could take was about 150 newton. Since the string snapped in the middle and not at the binding, it showed us that the string was the weakest part in the parachute not the binding or the material. We are really glad about this because it means our parachute should work properly on Launch Day.

When we tested the demo with two strings and binding the weight it could take was almost double, which meant our readings were accurate.

According to our tests results the parachute should be able to take more than the required weight.

By Tayyaba and Evan

CanSat - Team Value

In conjunction with building a satellite, making a parachute and undertaking an outreach programme, one of the core elements of the CanSat competition is team work. The CanSat competition gives teams a real taste of what it is like to work in a multi-disciplinary environment. 

Each team member has a specific role: 
• Evan Moloney - Mechanics and Engineering of the can. Responsible for the construction of the actual can itself, the internal chassis and the top and bottom plates. (Helped by Niall)
• Niall Keating – Design of the new PCB and installation of components. Also responsible for the coding of the primary mission. (Helped by Chris)
• Chris Kelly – Coding of the secondary mission, testing of the sensors and project planning. (Helped by Evan) 
• Tayyaba Sheikh – Construction of the parachute. Responsible for testing the parachute strength and calculating the terminal velocity of the CanSat. (Helped by Hugh)
• Hugh Fitzgibbon – Team Coordinator and PRO. Designing and implementing an outreach programme, preparing presentations and contacting firms for sponsorship. (Helped by Tayyaba)  

Each team member brings with him/her different talents and abilities. And of course, a personality! 
It is easy to get along with people when the CanSat is functioning correctly, deadlines are met and morale is high. However, we have been working together for many months at this stage and we have obviously had disagreements. We have a strict protocol in place for when there is a disagreement. A team meeting is called, opinions are shared and a solution is put in place. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing – to fly the Irish flag in a professional and commendable manner. 

We have learned a lot about teamwork throughout the competition. Many of these skills will be transferable later in life and we are delighted to have learned them in such an exciting competition. 

We now look forward to travelling Norway, as a team, and celebrating our achievements at the European Final! 

By Candroid

A Teacher's Perspective

The CanSat project is truly an exemplar of Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE) in operation. This particular teaching and learning methodology became a huge feature in science education, in the US after the launch of Sputnik era by the Soviet Union (late 1950s).

From my experience on the CanSat project these elements of IBSE are all truly transparent in terms of identifying and posing questions, designing and conducting investigations, analysing data, using models and explanations and communicating findings.

In specific terms the CanSat competition has provided our students an excellent opportunity to get practical experience in the design of complex systems that has its place firmly in the hi-tech sector. These skills feature highly in our smart economy for example, coding, electronic design, sourcing and specification of sensors, telemetry, design of printed circuit boards (PCBs), mechanical integration of sub modules in the Can and of course the dissemination of technical and other achievements via social networks, in parallel, to on site presentations to the captains of industry. Having acquired this real experience our students now have a very real sense that engineering is fun (a finding based on their enthusiasm and commitment throughout) and this has indirectly provided them with a greater understanding of what third-level prospectuses offer in terms of technical courses, by our colleges and universities.

In retrospect our students have learned so much and a lot of it would be at a level that is beyond the curriculum, set in second level. I believe this is a testament to IBSE and the vision of a student-centred approach in facilitating our students to achieve their fullest potential in their quest of delivering on CanSat’s objectives and even creatively generating extra objectives in their pursuit for excellence. All this has certainly paid off.

The competition in Norway next month will no doubt be intense but I have every belief that these students have what it takes to compete at the highest level, so keep your eyes fixed on this blog.

By Frank Murphy

Candroid at SciFest

Today the team travelled to SciFest, a Science Competition, in Limerick Institute of Technology as part of our outreach programme. The event was well attended by staff of LIT, students in the region, teachers, parents and high profile figures.

Although we did not enter the competition, we displayed a poster and we had a running presentation on a screen explaining our project to everyone.

Our aim at the competition was to promote Space Science and to promote the CanSat competition itself. We spoke to many different people varying from lecturers and professors to students and teachers.

It was a huge success and we certainly felt we helped to promote Space Science and CanSat.

Thank you to Marie Walsh and all at LIT and SciFest.

By Tayyaba 

Candroid starts VLOGING!

Following the success of our introductory video on-line, we've decided to start a YouTube Channel.

The Channel will feature videos of the team working/ explaining the project. The videos will be short and easy for everyone to understand!

The Channel will form an integral part of our outreach programme as well as helping us in our #CountdownToNorway.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbFqFN8uxhqeWDV2cd_MhVw

By Hugh

Introductory Video

We prepared this video for the European Space Agency to introduce our project to our fellow Europeans!

Aluminium Can -v- PVC Can

In my last blog post, I was exploring the advantages of using a PVC Can versus an aluminium can.

Teams can either construct the CanSat from scratch or cut open a soft drinks can - either way, they must meet certain measurements.

The PVC may had added extra structural strength to the CanSat and provided us with an alternative way of mounting our sensors. However, the external diameter of the PVC pipe we were going to use was too large, and it's weight would have been slightly impractical.

So we have decided to continue to use a soft drinks can as our exterior. Our first can has endured two Quadcopter drops, a crane drop and a rocket launch. As a result, I am currently constructing a new case for the sensors that will have more strategically placed holes for ventilation.

By Evan

S.D CARD LOGGER

We decided to use an S.D card logger in our can because we wanted to back up our wireless transmission. We are using the adafruit micro S.D card breakout because it was small and easily fits inside our CanSat. 

The process of coding the logger was tricky as it required a complete re-structure of our code.

This S.D Card logger will now save the data collected should the wireless system fail to operate. 

By Chris 

Irish Science Teachers' Association Conference 

Yesterday, members of the team travelled to National University of Ireland, Galway to speak at the Irish Science Teachers' Association Annual Conference. 

The prestigious event is open to all members of the Irish Science Teachers' Association and is in its fifty second year. Keynote speakers included Professor Martyn Poilakoff (University of Nottingham), Professor Jim Al-Khalili (University of Surrey), Professor Elaine Fox (University of Oxford) and many more. The conference began on Friday the 11th of April where European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Marie Geoghegan Quinn gave an opening address. 

Candroid briefly spoke about the project to a lecture theatre full of science teachers. We outlined the project, our primary and secondary mission and our outreach programme. We also displayed data from the Regional and National Competition. We finished by highlighting the benefits of participating in CanSat and told the teachers where they can keep up to date with all of our activities. 

It was a wonderful opportunity to broadcast our project on a national scale and it was important to us that we involved the educators of our country in the project. 

Thank you to ESERO Ireland and the Irish Science Teachers' Association. 

By Tayyaba & Hugh 

Secondary Mission 

After winning the National Final, we decided that we needed to add to our secondary mission. The issue of space debris fascinated us and we spent a lot of time researching how we could replicate satellites breaking up in space. We decided that it wouldn't be feasible and turned to other areas. 

Our secondary mission includes the following:

• GPS: To find the can after launch and also to help with profiling our data
• Humidity sensor: useful in a space mission to find water, useful especially when combined with temperature and pressure in analysis of weather
• Radiation sensor: to compare radiation levels at different altitudes
• Magnetometer: to examine variations in the magnetic field strength with altitude
• Ultrasonic sensor: for measuring the parachute activities over the duration of the flight

We now have to finish the coding and place them in the can. 

By Chris 

GPS: To find the can afte

Trip to St. Paul's National School! 

Today, Tayyaba, Ms O'Dea and I visited 5th class students (10-11 years old) in St. Paul's National School. After a warm reception from the Vice- Principal and the Class Teacher, we greeted the eager students who were ready to have some fun. 

We began by explaining the project and why we were there. They were fascinated when we told them that we had placed a satellite inside a can. We then discussed Isaac Newton, Gravity and explained Newton's Third Law. We showed them a video of the rocket used in the National Final. 

They were then placed into teams of two and we began demonstrating Newton's Third Law. Similar to our 1st Year Workshop, students had to create a Rocket Cart out of straws, card and polo-mints. The children really enjoyed the activity and were able to explain why the cart was being pushed forward by the end of the activity. 

The hands-on activity gave them a real insight into engineering. Many teams faced difficulties and could not get the carts to move. Just like an engineer investigates and alters the project to rectify errors, the students spotted that some of the walls to the cart stopped the cart from moving. Without asking any of us, they instinctively removed the walls which solved the problem. This demonstrated the incredible initiative the children have. 

They then all designed their carts and we had a race to see who had built the best Rocket Cart! 

Overall, it was a really successful day and it was a wonderful way to involve the local community! Thank you to everyone in St. Paul's for allowing us to carry out this vital part of our outreach programme. 

By Hugh 

Engineering Update

After learning from our mistakes during the competition so far, we have decided to design and fabricate our own Arduino. Thanks to ON-Semiconductor, we will be designing and making our own PCB (Printed circuit board). This isn’t going to be an easy process but we are confident that we can do it. Below is a schematic of the design so far.

By Niall 

I am currently investigating the advantages and disadvantages of using a can with a PVC body versus an ordinary aluminium drinks can body. This will give us different internal diameters and different options for mounting the PCB, as well as possibly strengthening the can. 

By Evan

A Teacher's Perspective 

Little did I expect when I embarked on my teaching career that I would be taking a group of students to have their satellite fired upwards 1 km into the sky at a location in Norway within the Arctic Circle. Yet that is what now awaits us.

There are enormous technical challenges for the students and teachers. However it cannot be denied that Cansat is THE most exciting project at Second Level schools in Ireland. Even at Regional level, there was a great sense of achievement when the quadcopter carried our cansat 50m above the astroturf at CIT and data streamed into the laptop. The venue for the National Final was perfect,  set against the backdrop of the giant telescope at Birr Castle. While racing after the students to find the cansat after being ejected from the rocket, as a teacher I had a real sense of satisfaction as this was actual science in action.

The work has intensified. Final decisions must be made about the secondary  mission. The outreach has stepped up a gear.  All  systems go!!

Anne O'Dea  

ALL - IRELAND CHAMPIONS! 

On Friday, Candroid travelled to Birr, Co. Offaly for the ESERO-CEIA CanSat 2014 National Final. We arrived at the County Arms Hotel at 18:30 and began some final testing of our sensors in our rooms. 

At 20:00, all 6 teams met for dinner and speeches. The speeches were extremely interesting and reminded all the teams of how their cans are the baby steps to a bigger picture. 

And so, the team retired - well, tried to. We decided to do some more testing of the can but errors kept being displayed. We stayed up until the early hours of Saturday morning but finally fixed all of the small issues. 

At 9:00 on Saturday morning, we arrived at Birr Castle. We were the sixth and final team to be dropped from the quad copter. Fortunately, all went to plan and our sensors received data. 

At 11:30/12:00, the rocket was unveiled. Each can was placed into a compartment inside the cylinder which would fire each can out at the same time through individual doors. The rocket was launched to a height of 300m and Tayyaba's parachute worked brilliantly. We were the first team to find our can as it did not drift into Birr Town and none of the sensors were broken. 

We spent the next hour finalising our presentation and analysing the data. We made four graphs - Temperature -v- Time, Temperature -v- Altitude, Pressure -v- Time and Humidity -v- Altitude. 

At 14:30, the presentations began. We were the last to present and we were delighted with how it went. The judges' questions were searching but the team managed them well. 

The judges then retired to deliberate and we mixed with the other teams. The other National Finalists included Coláiste Éanna, Dublin, St Paul's CBS, Dublin, Gairmscoil Mhuire, Athenry, Mercy Convent, Galway and Douglas Community School, Cork. They all had fantastic CanSats. Nobody reached the National Final without putting in long hours and a lot of hard work. Congratulations to all of these teams and their teachers as they represented their schools/ provinces really well and should be very proud of their CanSat! 

The competition was extremely tough and at 17:30 one of the judges, Stephanie O'Neill of ESERO Ireland, announced that Crescent College Comprehensive are the NATIONAL WINNERS! We will be representing Ireland in Norway in June in the European Final. 

The team is absolutely thrilled! We would like to thank Eamon Connolly & Brenda Cooper of CEIA, ESERO Ireland, ESA, the judges, our teachers Anne O'Dea & Frank Murphy, ON Semiconductor Ltd and everyone in Crescent! 

We will be on the Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk tomorrow morning (11:15-12:00) so be sure to tune in! 

Onwards and upwards from here! 

By Hugh 

Calibrating the Humidity Sensor 

Yesterday, I travelled out to Shannon Airport to calibrate our humidity sensor as it was the only place with known humidity readings for comparison. 

We had already travelled to the airport to calibrate the pressure readings.

It was a successful expedition and we are now receiving correct readings. 

By Chris

1st Year Workshop 

One of the main components of our Outreach programme is to promote physics at Leaving Cert level. Today, Tayyaba and I gave a workshop to a group of keen 1st Year students. 

The class was treated to a short presentation on CanSat, Space Explorations, Rocket Science and Newton's Third Law. 

The students were then divided into groups and carried out an activity to demonstrate Newton's Third Law (every action has an equal and opposite reaction). Each team built a Rocket Cart out of paper, straws, balloons and Polo Mints. 

It was a hugely successful workshop and we hope to give more as the competition progresses. 

 

By Hugh

Testing of the can 

This evening, the team, with the help of Ms O'Dea and a fellow 5th Year pupil., tested our can and parachute. We travelled to Cussens Crane Hire, Dock Road, Limerick. 

The crane brought the can up to a height of 25m and the can was dropped. We collected data and tested the parachute. It was a great success! 

A big thanks to the team at Cussens Crane Hire for helping us out!! 

By Hugh 

Here's a video of our first attempt - bit comical!! 

Humidity Sensor 

We decided we wanted to use a humidity sensor in our can as CanSat is supposed to simulate a space mission. Humidity sensors are frequently used in space missions to test for water. 

After much research we found that the HH10D humidity sensor, was the right one for us. We decided to go with this sensor as it is relatively accurate (+-3%) and the code would be straight forward. 

I started straight into the code and quickly realised that the tutorial I was hoping to use was based on previous Arduino software and was completely useless. After a bit more research and consultation with our mentor Cathal and our physics teacher Frank, we established a new, more accurate code for the sensor. 

This weekend I'm travelling out to Shannon Airport again to calibrate the sensor. 

By Chris 

GPS

As part of our secondary mission we chose to add GPS to our can. We chose GPS so that we can easily find the can after it is launched. The GPS module we chose is manufactured by adafruit, and is quite small. This makes fitting it inside the can very easy. Over the midterm I began implementing it into the can, the adafruit GPS runs at a different baud rate to most other GPSs so this took quite some time.  Thankfully after changing some of its settings I managed to get it working. Below is a journey I plotted using the GPS.

By Niall

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Munster Champions! 

Yesterday was a long day for the team! We departed from Limerick at 6:30 in the morning and there was a long day ahead of us. 

We arrived in CIT at 8:30 and everyone was slightly anxious and apprehensive - however, we had too much to do to let that stop us. We received our slot - number 5 - and began to work. 

Of course on the day of the competition everything that could go wrong did! Our frequency was changed, our battery died and the pressure sensor had a fault in the code. As a team, we all worked together and our can had an excellent launch. We were thrilled with the data received and began making graphs and finishing our presentation. 

All teams were offered a second launch and we enthusiastically accepted this opportunity to see our can descend again. 

At 1:45 the presentations began and the competition was fierce. All teams had worked extremely hard over the past few months and that was evident. Each can was unique in its own right and we did not envy the judges! We were proud of our presentation and were asked tough questions by the judges. 

After 5, the judges returned with their verdict. Two teams were to go through yesterday. Douglas Community School was the first winner announced and after what felt like forever, Crescent College was announced! 

We all stopped in a restaurant before heading home and had a wonderful celebratory dinner. Arriving in at 8:30 last night, we all knew that the competition had just begun... 

Thank you to Chris's mum for the transport and Niall's mother and sister for moral support! Special thanks to Anne O'Dea, the judges, Eamon Connolly and all from ESERO and CIT! 

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Below is a clip of our launch yesterday! Stay tuned!!! 

By Hugh 

SENSORS 

For the CanSat project we have two missions, a primary and a secondary.
For our primary mission we must calculate three things: pressure, altitude and temperature. 

The pressure sensor that was provided to us in the kit was not as accurate as we would have liked and did not allow for varying atmospheric pressure on a day to day basis. Therefore, we are using a digital pressure sensor. We are going to be using the Digital Bosche BMP 085 pressure sensor. From using this sensor we are able to calculate a very accurate pressure and therefore a very accurate altitude reading as there is a linear relationship between pressure and altitude. 

For the temperature we are using the thermistor provided for us in the kit.  The BMP 085 also comes with a built in temperature reading which is extremely accurate and so we will be using this too. 

We have also purchased an SD card data logger back up for the wireless and we are in the process of finishing this we are going to write to it over an SPI.


For our secondary mission we will be using a humidity sensor. We will also be using a GPS that is almost ready to go but will not be ready for tomorrow due to the weather this week. We are writing to this over a soft serial that we have tested and proved to be working by using the wireless. We are also looking into the possibility of using something related to space debris or space trash if we progress further in the competition. 


By Chris

Soldering 

As part of the CanSat competition, we have to wire up all the components ourselves.

This involves a process called soldering. The process of soldering involves melting a metal alloy over electronic components to join them together. 

Soldering is  cementing the components together to place them in the can so it is a very important process. Special soldering irons are needed for this process and unfortunately, we don’t have these irons in our school.

A local electronics manufacturing company, ON Semiconductor, offered us their facilities. So last week Chris and I went to their office and were met by Cathal O’Lionaird who gave us a tour of the building and brought us down to their lab. Cathal then gave Chris and myself a demonstration on how to solder and left us to it. 

It was a really interesting experience and was something we’d never done before. We then regrouped with Hugh and Tayyaba and explained everything we had learned. 

Special thanks to Cathal and ON Semiconductor! 

By Niall

Want to broaden your space knowledge? 

Follow the links below for interesting facts and videos on Space Science and Explorations! 

www.esa.int 

www.cnes.fr 

www.nasa.gov

http://www.esa.int/ESA_in_your_country/Ireland

http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos

There will be posters going up around the school next week displaying some interesting Space Facts! 

By Hugh 

The Parachute is ready for take-off! 

It was a long process which started off with a lot of research. Firstly, I researched all of the different types of fabrics and shapes.  I decided to use a segmented dome shaped parachute as it should support our can better during the landing. 

Crescent’s previous entry, Team Rocket, used red and yellow nylon to make their parachute. Their successful outreach programme inspired the founding of Candroid. To pay tribute to this, we have used the same fabric and colours. Obviously, our parachute differs in shape and the formula we are using is not the same! 

The next step was to get a 3D image of the parachute. A DCG Teacher in my school helped me to form an image using Solid Works. I then converted it to a 2D image. 

I printed the 2D image to use them as stencils for when I cut the fabric. 
One of my major difficulties in making the parachute was trying to keep it in line when I was using the sewing machine. 

By Tayyaba

Candroid is LAUNCHED to the school! 

At School Assembly today, Candroid was officially launched to the school to highlight how all students can get involved in our mission. 

The winners of our "Design Our Can" Competition are as follows:

• Team Name: CANDROID - Donnacha Henchy 
• Can Design: Mark O'Callaghan 

Mark drew an eagle for the design of our can. This represents the soaring, ambitious nature of our can. It also links in with our school crest and makes reference to our Jesuit Ethos - to be the best you CAN be! 

We also officially announced our slogan: "Candroid - The Can that Can". 

Chris also successfully calibrated our thermistor! We've ordered the sensors for our Secondary Mission and Tayyaba is flying through the construction of the parachute! Soldering has also begun!

Overall, a great day for CanSat! 

By Hugh 

Primary Sensors 

For our can, we've decided to use the pressure sensor and thermistor that were given to us as part of the kit. The readings from these sensors proved to be difficult to deduce from. To increase the accuracy of our readings, we will also use a digital thermistor and a digital pressure sensor. We will calculate the height of our can from the relationship between pressure and altitude. We will be carrying out important experiments tomorrow on these sensors. The results of these experiments will guide us through the next phase of the mission.... 

By Chris 

Where can YOU get the latest news on Crescent CanSat? 

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Preliminary Presentation 

Friday 24th January 2014 

Last Friday, the team (Niall Keating, Chris Kelly, Tayyaba Sheikh and Hugh Fitzgibbon) travelled to Cork to give a mini-presentation to a panel of judges and the other schools.

It was a real eye-opener for us all and made us put things into perspective.

We prepared a PowerPoint Presentation outlining our Mission Statement, our Primary Mission, Secondary Mission and Public Outreach plan. The presentation went really well and was a strong start to the competition.

The standard is very high in Munster and we enjoyed learning about how other schools are getting on and what their plans are.

We will be announcing the winners of our competition on Wednesday!

(*Please note: Unfortunately, our Blog domain is not mobile friendly)

By Hugh

Introduction 

Welcome to our Blog! 

CanSat is a competition organised by the European Space Agency. Teams from all member states of the EU are entitled to submit an entry. The aim of the competition is to promote Physics & Engineering amongst European teenagers. 

The competition requires students to construct a satellite within the parameters of a soft drinks can. There are many components to the competition including Primary Mission (satellite equipment), Secondary Mission (additional sensors etc.) and Public Outreach. 

This is Crescent College's second time entering the competition. The school's first entry did exceptionally well and represented Ireland. We hope to build upon this legacy! 

Please support us by Liking us on Facebook, Following us on Twitter and keeping an eye on this Blog!

By Hugh