Mission
The 2nd Young Engineers Satellite (YES2) is a project of the ESA Educational Office, where students from all over Europe develop an innovative re-entry technology by using space tethers instead of conventional propulsion methods. The YES2 Spacemail is trying to demonstrate a brand new method for payload transportation from Space to Earth and more specifically from the International Space Station (ISS) to Earth. The mission in planned to be launched in 2007 with the Russian scientific spacecraft FOTON-M3. The goals of the project are:
  • to give students a motivating technological &     educational experience;
  • to demonstrate SpaceMail: return a small capsule     from space to Earth, using:
     • a 30 km 5 kg wire (tether) rather than a rocket        engine, helping to open the way for new,        advanced space applications;
     • an ultra-light re-entry capsule demonstrating novel        heatshield technologies and entering a new        regime of in-flight aerothermodynamics study.

Case Study
Active Space Technologies works closely with CoE Patras as a thermal consultant for the project.