SparkPlugged » space http://sparkplugged.net Plugging the best of Japanese indie, rock and alternative music Thu, 24 May 2012 12:55:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4-beta3 Longest Paper Airplane Flights Ever! http://sparkplugged.net/2008/03/longest-paper-airplane-flights-ever/ http://sparkplugged.net/2008/03/longest-paper-airplane-flights-ever/#comments Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:14:35 +0000 Todd http://sparkplugged.net/2008/03/longest-paper-airplane-flights-ever/ Professor Shinichi SuzukiRight now Japan is gearing up to create the most amazing flight of any paper airplane ever. It will glide for about 400km long, this of course makes my record of about 6 meters look like child’s play (it was, but that’s irrelevant!). The flight will be all the way from the International Space Station back down to Earth. Of course who knows if a little 8cm airplane is going to make it back or not, so JAXA’s plan is to dump out 100 of these babies. Personally I don’t think that is enough being as the recovery plan is to have each one say ‘If found, send to Japan.’

Take a moment to consider the potential survival rate for these planes. A large amount of them are going to be destroyed coming down, dropping into the ocean, or land on some desolate part of the earth never to be seen again. JAXA would be lucky to get one of these fibrous fliers back out of 1,000.

If I happen to find one, there is no way I’m sending it back. I’m going to put it in a glass case! I’ll make sure to send a note to Japan telling them about my new display. But wouldn’t that make for an amazing find, a paper spaceplane!

The main goal is to try to figure out what types of future space shuttles will be best for re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. I’m not entirely sure how this part will help them accomplish the goal, but such is life.

Read more about the project at BBC News

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