Japan, I'm almost always behind you. But this time, I must admit I'm a little bit lost: Researchers from the University of Tokyo have joined forces with the Japan Origami Airplane Association (JOAA) to develop a paper airplane capable of surviving a flight from the International Space Station to earth's surface. What's next? A tentacle monster that actually exists and rapes people?
Today, researchers will start testing an 8-centimeter prototype in a high-speed wind tunnel at the University of Tokyo. Once inside, the origami space shuttle will brave wind speeds of 5,300 m.p.h. and the intense heat that comes with flying at Mach 7 speeds. That's a great start for a paper airplane, but it'll have to do better than that, because the actual space shuttle can reach speeds of Mach 20 upon reentry.
No official launch date has been announced, but University of Tokyo aerospace professor Shinji Suzuki says this:
“We hope the space station crew will write a message of peace on the plane before they launch it,” says Suzuki. “We don’t know where in the world the plane will land, but it would be nice to send a message to whoever finds it."
Let's hope no one ever finds it. Because if they do, it's likely that they'll find that message BURIED IN THEIR HEAD AFTER BEING KILLED BY AN INTERSTELLAR PAPER AIRPLANE!
Origami spaceplane to launch from space station (Pink Tentacle)
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