http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/03/27/japan.origami.spacecraft.ap/index.html
Quote: 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.
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Ummmm... "... far-reaching implications for the design of re-entry vehicles..."? Coming back to earth in a paper origami plane? I can see the upper atmospheric exploration side of this unique equation.
But the "coming back to earth in a paper origami plane"? Not sure I'd take the chance to ride that plane.
they do not say anywhere that the planes are manned.
Prrkitty wrote:http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/03/27/japan.origami.spacecraft.ap/index.htmlQuote: 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.
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Ummmm... "... far-reaching implications for the design of re-entry vehicles..."? Coming back to earth in a paper origami plane? I can see the upper atmospheric exploration side of this unique equation.
But the "coming back to earth in a paper origami plane"? Not sure I'd take the chance to ride that plane.
That's not at all what they mean.....
This brings up the thought about Out of This Dimension...
That's as far as I'll go.
That looks interesting. If it works, we might start seeing more prototypes of lightweight spacecraft designed for very slow reentry speeds. The only big problem I see with their experiment is that there is a very strong chance that the paper planes will end up splashing down in the ocean instead of landing in an area with people, with no real way to control what happens.