I didn't take a look at the YES2 page since November, but today I came back (thanks to Feramin's bump, I shall say
) and discovered they actually think Fotino may have landed safely, and in Kazakhstan! They are analysing the data from the tensiometers, and that very data shows the tether was released at the right time, and that Fotino was released at the right time too. But, some anomalies are in place yet and they may be the cause why Fotino didn't land (or wasn't seen to land) where it was supposed to. But there's still a chance they will find the little capsule lying in the Kazakh steppe.
Another cool photo, but unrelated to YES2, is that some cables on Foton M3 bearing a YES2 member's fingerprints actually survived reentry, and the fingerprints are still there! I suppose they're in a protected region, and that is expected, but nevertheless it's really amazing something as feeble as a fingerprint can be protected while a few centimeters away hell is raging
Oh, I almost forgot: YES2's page again:
http://www.yes2.info/
This mission seems to be slowly coming to a happier than expected end: the successful deployment of the 31.7 km tether is now confirmed, and it appears Fotino may have landed short of its original target due to a steeper than expected reentry angle (if it survived the higher temperatures)
Full story released by ESA:
http://www.esa.int/esaED/SEMCO5Q4KKF_index_0.htmlAnd also some neat things like the farewell post by one of the team members, along with the Guiness World Record Organization's certificate for the tether deployment, in YES2's site:
http://www.yes2.info/
) and discovered they actually think Fotino may have landed safely, and in Kazakhstan! They are analysing the data from the tensiometers, and that very data shows the tether was released at the right time, and that Fotino was released at the right time too. But, some anomalies are in place yet and they may be the cause why Fotino didn't land (or wasn't seen to land) where it was supposed to. But there's still a chance they will find the little capsule lying in the Kazakh steppe.