Origami plane will be dropped from space!

[Darth Wong]

Link. I was tipped off to this by an old online friend.

All systems go for space paper jet study

Japanese scientists and origami masters hope to launch a paper jet from space and learn from its trip back to Earth.

It's no joke. A prototype passed a durability test in a wind tunnel last month, Japan's space agency adopted it last week for feasibility studies, and a well-known astronaut is interested in participating.

A successful flight from space by an origami plane could have far-reaching implications for the design of re-entry vehicles or space probes for upper atmospheric exploration, said project leader Shinji Suzuki, a professor at Tokyo University's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Suzuki said he was skeptical a decade ago when he first discussed with experts the idea of sending into space a craft made in the tradition of Japan's ancient art of paper folding.

"It sounded like a simply impossible, crazy idea," Suzuki said. "I gave it some more thought, and came to think it may not be ridiculous after all, and could very well survive if it comes down extremely slowly."

In a test outside Tokyo in early February, a prototype about 7cm long and 5cm wide survived Mach 7 speeds and broiling temperatures up to 230 Celsius in a hypersonic wind tunnel - conditions meant to approximate what the plane would face entering Earth's atmosphere.

Having survived the 12-second test with no major damage or burns, the tiny plane theoretically could get back to Earth because re-entry from outer space involves passing through several layers that last only a few seconds each, said Osamu Imamura, a scientist who works with Suzuki.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, accepted it on Wednesday for three years of feasibility studies and promised up to $US300,000 in funding per year.

At this point, the proposal faces just one challenge, but it's a potentially crippling one: There is no way to track the paper craft or predict when or where they may land.

Critics say that makes the test pointless. Yasuyuki Miyazaki, an aerospace engineer at Nihon University who is not involved in the project, said the paper shuttles might not come back at all, depending on the angle at which they enter the atmosphere.

Suzuki said many things about science "have to be learned simply by trying them out."

Click on the link to read the rest of the article. I love it.

[Sea Skimmer]

Word of this was posted some weeks ago, but it seems they’ve progressed further in the research process. The tracking issue seems pretty deadly, most solutions, like say coating the plane in a material that’s highly reflective to lasers, would partly invalidate the glory of having a purely paper craft.

[Qwerty 42]

This is quite impressive. We need more completely ridiculous experiments

[cosmicalstorm]

Yeah I have a very hard time seeing how they are going to find it, and if anyone finds it, it will probably end up on Ebay, or it might turn out to be a forgery.

[Gil Hamilton]

This is why I like the Japanese. They still do things not only because of research, but also because they are simple and wonderful.

[Zixinus]

My first thought was: "You can't make this shit up."

It's a pretty funny and interesting idea at the same time.

[Patrick Degan]

First step a fold-up space plane. Next step a space plane that can transform into a multiton battlemech.

[Darth Wong]

This is why I like the Japanese. They still do things not only because of research, but also because they are simple and wonderful.

They do it because it's awesome.