Comarch Partnership of a Model Spacecraft Project

"Kraksat" Group, eight high school students from V High School in Krakow and Senior High School in Andrychów will present a model spacecraft during the finals of the European Space Agency (ESA) "Cansat" event. The event will take place between 10-14 April in the ESA headquarters in the Netherlands. Comarch is proud to support these eight young, emerging talents.

"We've built a radiation sensor that's able to work at low temperatures, high humidity, and even in the rain. It generated a lot of problems however, because the board can have a voltage of 500V, as well as sensitive Darlington transistors that can be damaged by even the smallest overvoltage," says Grzegorz Gajoch.

Data concerning radiation levels is required for protecting households against harmful particles. The team also plans to measure other parameters, such as temperature, pressure and humidity during the flight of the probe, a controlled fall through the atmosphere followed by a successful landing. "On the basis of these measurements we can conclude under what conditions a man can survive. For example, the measurement of humidity levels will allow us to determine the theoretical amount of water to be made available to plants and astronauts in future manned missions," says Ewelina Badak.

The project is scheduled to land by parachute. It needs to be able to withstand speeds of up to 180 km/h, which is why it has been repeatedly tested. Proper operation of the parachute and a soft landing will mean that data obtained by radio can be compared with data saved on an internal memory card.

"We encountered problems of course, but thanks to the work and commitment of the entire team we've managed to overcome them," Ewelina added.

Comarch provided financial support for the project and enabled the team to enter the European-wide competition. Comarch is proud to support events and projects that enable young people to gain new experiences, which will certainly pay off in the future.

More information about the project is available here >>