The Postal Frontier
By Catherine Scullion
It’s a common misconception that students represent an astonishingly unproductive section of society. However, the battle against stereotypes continues and the dawn of a ‘space postal service’ will surely give credibility to the industrious inventive skills of the Europe’s bright young minds.
Young Engineer’s Satellite 2 (YES2) represents an attempt to send a parcel back to Earth from space the old-fashioned way – by slinging it. It is not known if a nasty fate befell YES1 but its successor is now being transported to Russia in preparation for launch with the Russian research capsule Foton M3.
Just before Foton returns to Earth, YES2 will be activated and a half-millimetre thick, thirty-kilometre long tether will be rolled out and used to launch a re-entry capsule back to our atmosphere. This is the longest tether ever to be used in such an experiment and will even be visible from earth. The capsule, which is heat-protected, is intended to land in a remote location in Russia.
Roger Walker of the European Space Agency sees many benefits to the project. “YES2 represents a whole collection of university dissertations and theses. Students have gained valuable hands-on experience that will certainly be put to good use immediately if they should continue in the space industry or come to work for ESA.”
Uses of the project are by no means limited to the educational. If successful the technology will be harnessed as a means of returning experiments from space stations and postcards to loved ones once we start holidaying throughout the galaxy.
Who says students are layabouts who scoff at the very idea of a hard day’s work? Maybe we cynics should all take time to appreciate the hot-bed of inventiveness that is the world’s student population. On the other hand we could just find the YES engineers and give them a Chinese burn for letting the side down. Your choice.
For more stories of the bizarre visit Catherine or check out the links below:
- News - The blob from outer space
- Spoof - Custard proves space threat
- News - Planets, planets everywhere
- News - Global warming threat to the Hubble Telescope
Young Engineer’s Satellite 2 (YES2) represents an attempt to send a parcel back to Earth from space the old-fashioned way – by slinging it. It is not known if a nasty fate befell YES1 but its successor is now being transported to Russia in preparation for launch with the Russian research capsule Foton M3.
Just before Foton returns to Earth, YES2 will be activated and a half-millimetre thick, thirty-kilometre long tether will be rolled out and used to launch a re-entry capsule back to our atmosphere. This is the longest tether ever to be used in such an experiment and will even be visible from earth. The capsule, which is heat-protected, is intended to land in a remote location in Russia.
Roger Walker of the European Space Agency sees many benefits to the project. “YES2 represents a whole collection of university dissertations and theses. Students have gained valuable hands-on experience that will certainly be put to good use immediately if they should continue in the space industry or come to work for ESA.”
Uses of the project are by no means limited to the educational. If successful the technology will be harnessed as a means of returning experiments from space stations and postcards to loved ones once we start holidaying throughout the galaxy.
Who says students are layabouts who scoff at the very idea of a hard day’s work? Maybe we cynics should all take time to appreciate the hot-bed of inventiveness that is the world’s student population. On the other hand we could just find the YES engineers and give them a Chinese burn for letting the side down. Your choice.
For more stories of the bizarre visit Catherine or check out the links below:
- News - The blob from outer space
- Spoof - Custard proves space threat
- News - Planets, planets everywhere
- News - Global warming threat to the Hubble Telescope
Image: N
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