Freight Transportation System for Outer Space

The International Space Station (ISS) is creating an increasing need for freight transportation between space and Earth. Measurement systems, samples collected in experiments, and other items all need to be brought back to Earth. The European Space Agency (ESA) commissioned a team of companies and University research departments to investigate for a cheaper alternative that seems almost impossible: Loads are to be lowered down from space on a thread. With dSPACE Prototyper the University of Applied Science in Koblenz, Germany, set the challenging experiment up within only three months.