Japanese scientists develop paper plane to send to space

Scientists in Tokyo Japan have come up with the most fanciful Space Shuttle we’ve ever seen here at Toms UK and IRL.

The paper (yes, you heard right, paper) is eight inches long and will be launched from the international space station.

Now, granted, I don’t know much about aerodynamics, but any paper planes I’ve made never went further than across the classroom.

Hopefully, this one will go a little further. Although, if it didn’t we can’t imagine it being too devastating as it most likely wasn’t an expensive project.

A smaller plane constructed from folded silicon-treated heat-resistant paper was tested and proved to be able to withstand up to 300 °C at the University of Tokyo’s Kashiwa campus. We’re still not quite sure why they couldn’t perform the tests on a real-size test model. It’s only eight inches long, after all.

They plan on having one of the astronauts due to start working on the space station take it up with him when he’s going later in the year.

Professor Shinji Suzuki, from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Tokyo said he thinks that the technology of paper planes could be applied in the development of new transport craft.

I don’t know about astronauts but I refuse to fly to out space in a paper airplane. Should the opportunity ever arise, that is.