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Japan to launch paper planes in space

Shinji Suzuki of Tokyo University's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics shows a paper spacecraft at his laboratory in Kashiwa, Japan, on Feb. 6. PHOTO: AP

Japan plans to take origami paper folding to space, launching a paper plane from the International Space Station to Earth to learn about future spacecraft design.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency this week approved four space experiments, including the paper plane project, with up to ¥90 million (US$900,000) earmarked for studies over three years, agency official Hidehiro Akashi said on Thursday.

Prototype paper planes, folded in the shape of a US space shuttle, survived a test in a hypersonic wind tunnel in late January at a University of Tokyo laboratory.

The prototypes, some 7cm long and 5cm wide, went through Mach-7 speeds and temperatures up to 200oC, said the Japan Origami Airplane Association, which initiated the project.

The conditions were close to what paper planes, which will be drawn back to Earth by gravity, could confront upon re-entering the atmosphere from space, the association said on its Web site.

The project got a boost after the association found paper that was chemically treated to be extremely heat resistant.

"Even after the chemical treatment, paper remains paper and it can be used for origami," said Shinji Suzuki, a professor at the University of Tokyo's department of aeronautics and astronautics who cooperated in the project.

"The biggest problem is that we cannot predict where the plane will touch down if it manages to return. That's because the plane will be blown away by wind after entering the troposphere," Suzuki said.

"We are considering attaching a tiny transmitter. But if the paper plane gets heavier, it can't escape heating up due to air resistance," he said.

"In its initial flight, we may write on the paper of the plane in different languages: `Please let us know when you find this,'" he said.
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