UAH student teams soar to top international finishes in 2026 CanSat Competition

JUL 09, 2026 | Russ Nelson

UAH teams Vortex, MetalHawk and Skywarp competed in the 2026 CanSat Competition hosted by the American Astronautical Society in Monterey, Va.

Courtesy Lily Sirianni

Future engineers from The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System, earned two top-four finishes and placed all three UAH teams among the world's best at the 2026 Annual CanSat Competition. The annual payload showcase gives students the opportunity for hands-on engineering experience that prepares participants to tackle genuine aerospace challenges. UAH's Team Vortex placed second overall and first among U.S. universities, while Team MetalHawk finished fourth internationally and second in the United States. Team Skywarp also delivered a strong performance, placing 13th internationally and fourth among U.S. teams.

Hosted by the American Astronautical Society in Monterey, Va., CanSat tasks university students with designing, building and testing a sophisticated payload that fits within a small container roughly one foot long and 5.5 inches wide. This year's mission required teams to develop a 1-kilogram payload. After launch, the payload separated from its container, autonomously deployed a paraglider, navigated toward a designated landing zone and released an egg from about two meters above the ground with the goal of keeping it intact. Throughout the flight, onboard sensors transmitted real-time data to a student-designed ground station as well.

The competition mirrors the engineering process used by NASA and the aerospace industry, requiring students to complete a Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review, environmental testing, a Flight Readiness Review and a Post-Flight Review over an eight-month design cycle. In addition to designing their flight hardware, all three UAH teams developed custom ground stations for a bonus engineering challenge to display and record telemetry transmitted during flight.

“I had a great experience with CanSat, and it was a great introduction to UAH and allowed me to really find the group that I fit in with,” says Andrew Levrett, a mechanical team member on Team Vortex. “I gained a ton of applicable knowledge and skills which I will take with me to future projects and eventually the engineering industry, as well as a greater understanding of what the engineering process is and validation and assurance that I have made the right decision in my major and university.”

For Rudra Patel, electrical lead for Team MetalHawk, seeing months of design work come together made the competition especially rewarding.

“I would say my overall CanSat experience was enjoyable and fun,” the student says. “I learned lots of skills, including things that weren't specific to my sub-team. My favorite moment was probably when everything was put together and we were able to see all the subsystems working together – primarily for me, the electrical system – since that is what I worked on. Seeing the hard work actually pay off was definitely a good feeling.”

Christina Yong, mechanical lead for Team Skywarp, says the experience extended beyond technical skills.

“I am honored to have worked alongside such a hardworking group with a wide variety of talents, skill sets and characteristics that truly bring together diversity driven to collaborate and a passion for success,” the student notes. “I am eternally grateful to the UAH Space Hardware Club (SHC) and CanSat as it has given me extremely useful experiences and lifelong friendships.”

Yong said overcoming obstacles throughout the project strengthened both the team and its members. “The Space Hardware Club CanSat team has taught me so much. I have not only gained an experience in highly technical learning but also a rigorous team-based environment. Every all-nighter, presentation, redesign, manufacturing, you name it, obstacle has changed my perspective of how it is to work on a team.”