Japan launches airplanes ... paper into space

Japanese paper-folding scientists and experts hope to launch a paper plane from space, and learn about its journey back to earth.

The space shuttle paper plane, 7 cm long, 5 cm wide, was placed in front of the experimental wind canal at the Tokyo University Laboratory in Kashiwa, near Tokyo, February 6.(Photo: AP)

After experiencing endurance testing in a wind channel last month, the paper plane was recently approved by the Japanese space agency for feasibility studies, and a famous astronaut agreed to attend. join the project. The paper airplane's space flight, if successful, could have provided far-reaching applications for the design of the spacecraft returning to Earth, or the exploration ships exploring the upper atmosphere. .

Project leader, Shinji Suzuki, a professor at the University of Tokyo's Department of Aeronautics and Aeronautics, said he was skeptical about this when he first discussed the idea with experts about an airplane. follow Japanese paper folding art 10 years ago.

In an experiment outside Tokyo in early February, the prototype 7 cm long and 5 cm wide aircraft survived at 7M speed (7 times the sound), and were baked to temperatures up to 230 degrees Celsius in a supersonic wind channel - the maximum conditions an aircraft suffers when it enters the earth's atmosphere.

Enduring the 12-second test without any damage or fire, this tiny plane could theoretically return from Earth to space.

The challenge now is that there is no way to track it or predict where it will fall.