A supersonic spitwad is next

Japanese scientists and origami masters hope to someday launch a paper airplane from space and learn from its trip back to Earth.

A successful flight could have far-reaching implications for the design of reentry vehicles or probes for upper-atmospheric exploration, said project leader Shinji Suzuki, a professor at Tokyo University’s department of aeronautics and astronautics.

He said the plane “could very well survive if it comes down extremely slowly.”

In a 12-second test outside Tokyo in early February, a specially treated prototype about 3 inches long and 2 inches wide survived Mach 7 speeds and broiling temperatures up to 446 degrees Fahrenheit in a hypersonic wind tunnel -- conditions meant to approximate what the plane would face entering Earth’s atmosphere.

So far, there is no way to track a paper craft or predict when or where it would land.