India's Space Future: 600+ Students Participate in National Model Rocketry and CANSAT Competition with Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla

Kushinagar:

The national model rocketry and CANSAT competition in India witnessed enthusiastic engagement from more than 600 students, with astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla encouraging participants to set ambitious goals and reach higher to achieve their aspirations in the space industry.

The four-day Model Rocketry and CANSAT National Competition was collaboratively organized by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), ISRO, and the Astronautical Society of India (ASI), with support from the Uttar Pradesh government. The event featured 67 student teams - 31 competing in Model Rocketry and 36 in the CANSAT category.

At Tumkuhiraj, 37 launches were successfully executed - 13 in model rocketry and 24 in CANSAT - from temporary launchpads established in verdant fields alongside the Narayani river.

This marks the second edition of CANSAT, with student-built satellites from the inaugural competition being elevated using drones.

R V College of Engineering-Bengaluru claimed the top prize in model rocketry, while SVKM's and Dwarkadas J. Sangvi College of Engineering-Mumbai secured first place in the CANSAT competition.

In the model rocketry category, Pranveer Singh Institute of Technology-Kanpur and Nirma University-Ahmedabad won second and third positions respectively.

For the CANSAT category, Dayanand Sagar College of Engineering-Bengaluru and BITS Pilani-Hyderabad earned second and third places respectively.

"When I was your age, I had no idea what all this meant. So, that is the shift, the transition that I am seeing, that what you are doing right now is just phenomenal," remarked Shukla, who recently became India's first astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS).

The final day's events were attended by Shukla, IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Kumar Goenka, Deoria MP Shashank Mani, and ISTRAC Director A K Anil Kumar.

Shukla's speech deeply connected with participants as he encouraged them to challenge limits, foster curiosity, and take pride in contributing to India's expanding space sector.

"The IN-SPACe Model Rocketry & CANSAT Competition was inspired by the Prime Minister's vision to encourage and prepare talent who will build India's future space missions," stated Goenka.

Goenka emphasized that for participants, the competition transcended winning; it was about contributing to India's future missions, one launch at a time.

"At the heart of this initiative was the vision to empower young minds to take their innovation quotient out of classrooms, and soar higher with grit and conviction," explained Vinod Kumar, Director-Promotion Directorate, IN-SPACe.

Kumar added that such events demonstrate that India's space future will be constructed progressively by young innovators across the nation, with IN-SPACe committed to creating more platforms where talent can practice, fail, learn, and excel.