Could a Paper Plane Thrown From The International Space Station Survive The Flight?
www.sciencealert.com
Sometimes there are profound questions in life that must be answered, like "What is the meaning of existence?", "Are we alone in the universe?" or "What happens if you throw a paper airplane from the International Space Station?" Luckily, that third one has finally been answered, because of course someone would eventually.
  • yaroto98@lemmy.orgEnglish
    8·
    2 days ago

    I love the idea of this, but the article doesn’t mention the airplane slowing down at all. It has very little mass and a lot of drag. As it enters earths atmosphere, I’d think it would slow down as it entered the atmosphere really quickly and avoid getting burned up.

    They just mention the speed of the IIS and put the airplane in a wind tunnel to simulate reentry speeds and effects. I think further math needs to be done. Or to toss a bucketfull out of the IIS.

    • PattyMcB@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      I’m with you. It would probably slow quickly and not undergo Mach 7 winds once the air became dense enough to actually damage it.

      Interesting thought exercise, but I think their experiments contained some flawed assumptions