Jan 17 2008Space Station To Drop Paper Plane To Earth
Japan is at it again, this time planning to launch a paper spaceplane from the International Space Station and having it travel through the atmosphere and land on Earth.
The researchers are scheduled to begin testing the strength and heat resistance of an 8 centimeter (3.1 in) long prototype on January 17 in an ultra-high-speed wind tunnel at the University of Tokyo’s Okashiwa campus (Chiba prefecture). In the tests, the origami glider — which is shaped like the Space Shuttle and has been treated to withstand intense heat — will be subjected to wind speeds of Mach 7, or about 8,600 kilometers (5,300 miles) per hour.
What in the hell did they treat that paper airplane with? Obviously some sort of alien goo. Because I tried flying a paper airplane through a fire once, and that thing burnt up real quick. Now I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but I think it's safe to say that airplane is going to kill us all. I'm building a bunker and starting a cult. Mostly just to have sex with my followers, but this works too.
Origami spaceplane to launch from space station [pinktentacle]
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Reader Comments
1. JustBuzzed - January 17, 2008 2:01 PM
My guess is some kind of ceramic. I have the same coating for condoms due to the super high friction.
http://theunsoberlife.com
2. Magic Goo Guy - January 17, 2008 2:38 PM
Last time I was in Tokyo a group of rogue sceintists kidnapped me and forced me to jack off in a cup and then released me back into the karaoke bar. I never understood why they want my semen until now. I'm gonna carry a copy of this article around with me from now on, so next time a girl ask me, "What is so special about you?" I can whip it out and explain to them that not only does my baby batter protect spaceships during reentry, but it is also high in protein, will leave their skin more radiant and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.
Note to self: Also carry around a copy of this comment so in my drunken stupor I can remember why I'm carrying around a copy of this blog post.
3. Fred - January 17, 2008 2:49 PM
HA ha ha. i wonder if any woman actually fell for that line. Sperm reduces fine lines and wrinkles. the hilarity ... lol
4. herro evelybody - January 18, 2008 10:23 AM
what it fails to mention is that the paper airplane will actually be used to shuttle the jap pilots back to earth.
5. guate6 - January 18, 2008 10:53 AM
Ok, so this is further proof that the last neat thing any Aeronautical engineering company (namely space-related ones) did, was get a man on the moon (which some believe never happened because of wind on the moon blowing the flag, etc.) but anyway...
Remember the Mars lander? (they did the calculations English units and programmed it in metric units).
Remember the space pen? The one that can write upside down, in space, and underwater? (Meanwhile the Russians are still using their famous 5 cent pencils)
Remember a while ago how they put the mirror in the Hubble telescope in backwards? Remember the Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003)...Rest In Peace guys.
All I'm saying is that they've done very little "new and cool" and have been wasting a ton of money on stupid things, like making a space hotel, selling space-real estate where you can dump 1/4 ounce of a deceased one's ashes for a ridiculous amount of money, taking people up into space for another ridiculous amount of money. It seems these fund raisers are using the proceeds and building what a second grader can do. I think we should sue space agencies around the world...well, maybe except Russia, at least they still have some common sense.
If they were actually to develop something from this, like an actual space ship or space suits, etc. who the hell would want to be the guinea pig? Things like this make me weep for humanity.
6. The Mighty Quinn - January 18, 2008 1:53 PM
It's because the funding for NASA is pitiful. What do you expect them to do? What NASA needs is the threat of an alien terroist attack! Then we'd ALL be cleeping in jet packs!
7. jazzman - January 18, 2008 2:59 PM
Ok... thought i was a rather bright guy... i'm an engineer... but for the god's sake... what about a paper airplane falling to earth would cause it experience enough heat to catch flames... Being that there's mentioning of wind tunnel I'm assuming some sort of friction... if it was solar radiation... just stick a damn flame under the plane... this has to be a hoax!!!
8. damn luddites - January 19, 2008 1:16 PM
@7 jazzman
well I'm not aerospace engineer, but perhaps if the plane was constructed to be more aerodynamic than your average paper airplane, and it was thrown from the space station at just the correct angle that it would travel straight down to earth, then maybe, just maybe it could pick up sufficient speed where the atmosphere is thinner (less resistance, less friction), and then it would be traveling really fast, and then it would hit thicker atmosphere, experience more friction, and heat up?
How the hell do they plan to track the thing. Got to put some sort of transmitter in it, with perhaps a small battery.
9. jazzman - January 21, 2008 1:37 PM
@damn luddites
I hear ya... but F=ma & F = (friction coefficient) * (Normal Force of Friction)
either that paper has to weigh a ton, or they have to be shooting that thing out the door with a rail gun!!!
10. jazzman - January 21, 2008 1:54 PM
@damn luddites
Forgot to mention... F = GMm/R²... the higher the drop... the weaker the gravity... thinner atmosphere, less gravity...
11. louis vuitton - September 27, 2009 7:32 PM
My guess is some kind of ceramic. I have the same coating for condoms due to the super high friction.