Fotino

European tether technology satellite. Study 2005. European re-entry capsule experiment planned to be carried on Foton-M2, but not ready in time for launch. Technology, Reentry satellite for ESA / ESTEC, Europe.

Fotino was a 40-cm diameter, soft spherical capsule consisting of a newly developed flexible heat shield, a beacon and a data logger. It was a passive experiment which would be ejected from the outside of the Foton-M2 capsule after retrofire. European students, together with their Russian colleagues, were to locate and recover the capsule after it landed on the Russian-Kazakhstan border and return it to Europe for further analysis. The flexible heat shield material was developed under the Young Engineers Satellite (YES2) project and was planned for use on ultimate the inflatable YES2 re-entry capsule. The YES 2 was to be launched on Foton M-3 and demonstrate braking from orbit using a 30-km long tether. A tether cutter assembly was also tested on Foton M-2, but not used to brake the Fotino.