Monday, April 07, 2008

Japan Aims for Origami Space Craft

I think this is quite amazing. Japanese scientists and origami masters hope to launch a paper airplane from space and learn from its trip back to Earth. No, this isn't a joke. A prototype passed a durability test in a wind tunnel last month. I would think with zero gravity, it wouldn't move anywhere being so light weight. Japan's space agency adopted it 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. Interesting, huh?

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