National Student Space Competition 2026: Student teams from across India launched 43 CanSats and 18 model rockets at the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe)'s national student space competitions held in Kushinagar. A CanSat is a simulation of a real satellite, integrated within the volume and shape of a soft drink can.
The four-day event, held from October 31 to November 3 2026, hosted the third CAN-7USAT India Student Competition and the second National Model Rocketry India Student Competition, also known as IN-SPACe Narayani Rocketry Cup 2026.
In a press release shared with NDTV, the centre stated that 76 teams designed, built and tested their own hardware, which was evaluated by expert committees drawn from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), IN-SPACe, industry and academia.
Holding the competitions in Kushinagar took national-level space engineering to a largely rural district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the organising committee noted.
Speaking at the event, Minister Shashank Mani Tripathi said, "Technology must ultimately serve the common people. Competitions in rural regions give students an opportunity to understand real-world challenges while bringing scientific innovation closer to communities."
According to the official press release, student-built CanSats were the size of a 7U satellite bus, allowing teams to accommodate maximum payloads as well as Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) systems. The CanSats carried sensors to record parameters such as temperature and atmospheric pressure during flight. Some teams added cameras to capture images and video of the terrain and designated landing zones, and tested applications such as vegetation monitoring.
Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman, IN-SPACe, said, "Every CanSat and rocket that flew this week was designed, built and tested by students, and that hands-on experience is exactly what India's space industry needs from its next generation of engineers.
In the Model Rocketry competition, 18 student-built rockets were launched. Teams were judged on the design, development and testing of their rockets, with an emphasis on innovation, precision and system performance.
Dr Vinod Kumar, Director, Promotion Directorate, IN-SPACe, said, "The dedication and year-long efforts of the students have resulted in a successful edition, with 43 CanSat launches and 18 model rocket flights, surpassing last year's figures of 24 CanSats and 13 rockets. These competitions provide valuable opportunities for students to test their capabilities, learn through practical experience and contribute to India's growing space ecosystem."
According to official information, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, won the third CAN-7USAT India Student Competition, with CV Raman Global University, Bhubaneswar, placing second and BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru, third.
Central University, Jammu, received the Best Team Award and BITS Pilani - Hyderabad Campus the Best Design Award.
In the second National Model Rocketry India Student Competition, the IN-SPACe Narayani Rocketry Cup 2026, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, took first place, followed by Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, and Delhi Technological University, Delhi.
Dwarkadas J Sanghvi College of Engineering, Mumbai, won the Best Team Award and Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering, Pune, the Best Design Award.
The first-placed teams in both competitions received a cash prize of Rs 10,000 each.
