WCC students showed ’em how it’s done at the recent ARLISS (A Rocket Launch for International Student Satellites) held in Black Rock, NV, Sept. 12 to 14. 


The WCC CanSat Team competed in the open class division against 20 U.S. and international universities, including teams from Japan and South Korea. The team’s module was launched in a high-powered rocket (pictured) over 11,000 feet and deployed in the atmosphere. 


In addition to collecting data, the module needed to return on its own and land as close as possible to a predetermined target. With both of its launches, the Hawai‘i team landed closest to the target, just .4 miles on the first launch and .25 miles on the second. 


The next closest was a Japanese team, landing .79 miles from the target. Considering their shoestring budget, the Windward CANSAT Team produced amazing results. 


The CanSat Team members are Premo Ames II, project leader; Billl Beggs, lead programmer; Joleen Iwaniec, electronics manager; and Damion Rosbrugh, consultant. One position remains open on the team for any WCC student who can commit to the year-long research-and-build project. The team members are currently working on plans for their next module, in which they hope to install a camera along with other remote sensors.


Mentors are Joseph Ciotti and Jake Hudson. Robert Forbus, a former member, volunteers his fiberglass fabricating skills to the team. 


The CanSat team is funded entirely through the Hawai‘i Space Grant Consortium, which funded fellowship stipends, supply expenses and travel fees to enter the competition, totaling over $17,000.