The biggest thing that most associate with the re-entry of a spacecraft into the Earth’s atmosphere is heat and friction. To that end, one of the biggest concerns for the space shuttle fleet is the integrity of the heat shield to allow re-entry without catastrophic failure such as the Columbia suffered.

Japanese scientists have a wild idea that involves the ancient art of paper folding known as origami. A prototype shuttle built from folded paper that was made from sugar cane fibers and sprayed with a special coating has been able to withstand durability tests in a wind tunnel at the Tokyo University Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Ultimately, the researchers want to launch the plane from space and see if it can withstand re-entry.

Project leader Shinji Suzuki is quoted by Boston.com as saying, “It sounded like a simply impossible, crazy idea [origami planes surviving reentry]. I gave it some more thought, and came to think it may not be ridiculous after all, and could very well survive if it comes down extremely slowly."

The researchers believe that if the origami planes enter the earth’s atmosphere at slow enough speed that they would be subject to much less friction and heat than a full-size space craft like the space shuttle. Large spacecraft enter the Earth’s atmosphere at tremendous rates of speed leading to copious amounts of heat generated from friction.

The small origami paper shuttles measure about 2.8-inches long and 2-inches wide. In wind tunnel testing the origami shuttles survived wind speeds of up to Mach 7 and temperatures up to 446 degrees Fahrenheit. These conditions are said to approximate reentry into Earth’s atmosphere from orbit.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has agreed to fund the project for three years with a grant of $300,000 per year. The program is getting stiff opposition from those who don't understand why money would be wasted on such a proposal.

Opponents ask what’s the point of the study if the planes can’t be tracked to determine if they survived reentry. The origami panes would be launched by astronaut Koichi Wakata by throwing them into the wake of the ISS as it hurtles through its 250 mile high orbit at Mach 20.

Suzuki and fellow researchers plan to write messages of peace on the origami shuttles, the exact number of which would be launched is not yet determined. Messages on the origami shuttles will also request that anyone finding the planes notify the researchers.

The launch of origami planes from the ISS would be a perfect use for the Japanese Kibo lab's open section scheduled to be delivered to the ISS next year. The first section of the Kibo lab was delivered by the space shuttle Endeavor in March 2008.