The President of the Government congratulated the ENTA SAT2 team of the School of New Technologies of Ponta Delgada, who won the European CanSat Competition 2016 that took place during the weekend in Torres Vedras.
 
"By winning teams representing several countries, the ENTA SAT2 team honoured the name of the Azores in a European competition, proving that, with hard work, dedication and team spirit, we can be on equal terms with the best in several areas, such as the case of science," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
In the congratulatory message sent to all those who were involved in this victory, the President of the Government considered that this achievement is "a source of inspiration for Azorean young people to believe that they can always succeed in the projects they develop.
 
CanSat Portugal is an educational project promoted by the European Space Agency (ESA). It aims to provide Portuguese students with a first experience in aerospace technology projects. The construction of a working model of a microsatellite in which all systems are included in the volume of a soda can is the main purpose of this initiative.
 
The minisatellite project developed by the ENTA SAT2 team involved the study of the solar radiance to evaluate the use of photovoltaic energy in space missions, the assurance of survival and recovery of the minisatellite through geolocation by GPS and the design of a system of flexible protective capsule for cushioning the impact on landing.
 
In addition to the Azorean team, who represented Portugal following the victory in the national competition, the competition also involved the participation of teams from Greece, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Finland, United Kingdom, Romania and Denmark.