New Delhi, March 30 The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, or IN-SPACe, has opened applications for the second edition of the IN-SPACe Model Rocketry competition and the third edition of the CAN-7USAT India student competition 2026.
The competitions involve the design, development, and launch of a model rocket and a 1 kg, can-sized satellite, which must reach an altitude of 1,000 meters above the launch site.
Undergraduate student teams from engineering and science streams across India can apply for the competitions, with April 30 as the last date for submitting applications.
In a statement, Vinod Kumar, director of the promotional directorate at IN-SPACe, said, "The Model Rocketry and CAN-7USAT competitions are designed to give students realistic exposure to the challenges of building and executing space missions.
"By working on real engineering problems, students will develop technical skills and learn the value of teamwork, project management, and problem-solving."
Established in June 2020, IN-SPACe, a nodal agency under the Department of Space, is responsible for the promotion, enabling, authorisation, and supervision of various space activities of non-governmental entities (NGEs).
In the 2024-25 edition of the competitions, 67 student teams comprising nearly 600 students, faculty members, and mentors qualified for the national finale, with 36 teams competing in the CAN-7USAT category and 31 in Model Rocketry.