Tether System Experiment - preparing for ESA's first tether mission

The Tether System Experiment (TSE) has been identified by the European space community as an important initiative for demonstrating the application of tethers in space. An international project team has studied the feasibility of this tethered-capsule re-entry mission, which could be launched as early as 2002 on a Russian Progress vehicle. It will prove the feasibility of tether-assisted sample return from the International Space Station (ISS) and could ultimately lead to many other practical applications of tethers in space.