Making a paper plane that flies for more than a few metres is hard enough. But now for the first time, a hundred paper planes have embarked on a journey back to Earth from the edge of space.
To be fair, the stunt – which is part of an advertising campaign by Samsung – does rely on help from a helium-filled weather balloon and the pull of gravity. Nonetheless, as advertising stunts go, it’s not a bad one – and it makes for some pretty incredible video footage (see video, above).
To get the best paper plane design, the team consulted Andy Chipling from the Paper Aircraft Association, and for the balloon design they talked to Robert Harrison of the Icarus project, which sends balloons to high altitudes.
The result was a weather balloon filled with helium which carried the paper plane payload into the sky. The idea behind the stunt was to prove how durable Samsung memory cards are, so each plane contained a card with a message for whoever might find it back on Earth.
Just who the lucky recipients will be, and when the planes will be found, remains to be seen.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Diving into the Raspberry Pi RP2350, Python Survey Results and more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
That is awesome! I love how more and more people are venturing out to the edges of space on their own, even if it is in balloons with camcorders on board. The human nature to explore is still alive!
Sounds like a take-off on the original Paper Airplane Released Into Space (PARIS) project:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/28/vulture_one_recovered/
Awwww, that’s sad, just imagine how many cards are going to drown in the ocean =(
Brand new ones D=
I love projects like this! Thanks John.
That is awesome! I love how more and more people are venturing out to the edges of space on their own, even if it is in balloons with camcorders on board. The human nature to explore is still alive!