When I first heard of this idea of building a space shuttle out of paper I thought that it was a crazy idea that will probably kill the people in it if there were any and that the country responsible for this idea was probably Japan. Luckily, after looking further into it these space shuttles, I found out that they won't be carrying any passengers, and yes it was the Japanese that came up with the idea. The individual that proposed the concept goes by the name of Shinichi Suzuki, a professor at the University of Tokyo. The reason why I chose this design was not only cause of self interest but also cause that it was a perfect example of science and design working together to push the boundaries of what is possible and what is not. so far through various test these planes can now survive up to 300 degrees Celsius and have resisted wind speeds up to Mach 7, which for those who don't know is 7 times the speed of sound !!! Each shuttle that has been tested is about 8 cm long and weighs about 30g. the ones that will be used will be bigger, about 20 cm. About 100 of them will be released from the spaceship and will have to travel a distance of 300 miles. the paper being used has been treated with a compound that increases its heat resistance.
Trustworthy?
Well for those who haven't heard/read up on this concept before will definitely be sceptical and say that it is not trustworthy after all its made out of paper. But after reading into it id say it is trustworthy to some extent. although it might not be able to carry any life form on it, it can still carry messages, to both unknown life forms in space and those here on earth.
Appropriate?
I'd say it is appropriate i mean it makes sense that they send up an origami space shuttle instead of something like a origami crane. Also the design appeals to all age groups and genders.
Smart?
Its not really smart in the sense that it won't correct human errors but it can prevent us from working harder. If this idea works and these planes survive it opens up a whole new window of possibilities for using light weight and possibly in-expensive materials to build space shuttles and have them survive.
Responsive?
No not really, it's just a paper airplane.
Clever?
No. But the concept is quite clever and as well as the process of building it, now this paper space shuttle can withstand up to 300 degrees Celsius, which is pretty awesome I'd say.
Playful?
Yes definitely. the whole experience is quite exciting and it toys with the endless opportunities that it could open up, so in that sense yes it is playful. Also those that do survive will contain a message in various languages saying return to the Japanese Space Headquarters with an address on it most likely.
Pleasurable?
Yes, yes it is pleasurable both functual and aesthetically.
Sites:
-there's a video on the first site that i cited so go check it out it of them testing the planes looks pretty cool
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