Dear valued supporter,

Thank you for supporting UC Irvine CanSat through our fall 2025 ZotFunder campaign. Despite launching this campaign later into the quarter than planned, we raised $1,625 from 13 generous donors. This support has meaningfully strengthened our position as we move into the next phase of our 2025-26 competition season.

The funds raised are currently being used to support both system development and competition preparation. In broad terms, this support is contributing to the following areas:

• ~$100 – Sensors and electronics to support avionics development and our fully portable ground station
• ~$50 – Manufacturing and iteration of a custom printed circuit board (PCB) designed by our team
• ~$100 – Intern-led subsystem projects, enabling students to purchase components for telemetry testing, avionics validation and system verification
• Remaining funds – Offset competition travel costs, including airfare, lodging and ground transportation for team members attending the International CanSat Competition

Looking ahead, our estimated competition travel costs total approximately $5,600, which includes airfare for 10 team members, ground transportation, and lodging for 4 days. While ZotFunder support covers only a portion of these expenses, it significantly reduces the financial burden on our team!

With these resources in place, our team can focus on assembly, subsystem testing and iterative refinement as we prepare for our Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and eventual launch. We are deeply grateful for your support and belief in our team, and we look forward to sharing continued updates as our project progresses.

With sincere gratitude,

UC Irvine CanSat Team

Only 30 days left before the close of our campaign!

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported UC Irvine CanSat so far! Because of your generosity, we’ve already raised $1,250 toward our $5,000 goal! With 10 donors contributing, we’re officially at 25% funded. Every gift has brought us closer to building this year’s satellite prototype and competing on the international stage.

Our team has a strong legacy of excellence in the International CanSat Competition. Over the past two years, we have proudly finished 9th in the World & 3rd in the United States (2025) and 4th in the World & 2nd in the United States (2024). Your support ensures we can continue this tradition of excellence.

We want to extend a heartfelt thank-you to our early donors for believing in our work. As we approach Giving Tuesday, we ask you to please consider sharing our ZotFunder campaign with your network to help us reach even more supporters!

Thank you for being part of our journey and amplifying our mission in ways we truly cannot do alone.