What is the future of origami fighter planes? To find the answer to this question, I searched the Internet and went to public libraries. To my astonishment, I came across an article that gives me insight into a pioneering futuristic application of origami airplanes.
Japanese scientists, in close collaboration with the Japan Origami Airplane Association, have created a prototype spaceship made of special chemically treated paper that is resistant to intense heat and wind. This prototype survived many of the tests simulating the conditions of outer space. Some of the tests include putting the origami spacecraft at speeds of Mach 7 and a temperature of 230 Celsius inside a high-speed hypersonic wind tunnel. This means that the light weight and proprietary paper technology addresses heat and friction issues, allowing the paper spacecraft to re-enter the atmosphere and gradually descend to Earth. The research team went one step further by requesting a Japanese astronaut to release this origami plane from the space station and this origami spacecraft could take many months to return to Earth. Once this technology is proven, origami technology could be used for future unmanned spacecraft.
But once again, many spacecraft and fighter aircraft developments have fallen by the wayside due to technological or financial constraints. Some military fighter jet developments are even so classified that what we hear is rumors or leaked news. One such example is the Aurora (also known as the SR-91 Aurora).
The Aurora is an unconfirmed American reconnaissance aircraft believed to have been developed in the 1980s and 1990s to replace the SR-71 Blackbird. It is also believed to be capable of hypersonic flight at speeds up to Mach 4-6, and possibly up to near Mach 10 in high-altitude flight.
News of its manufacture was published in 1990, and Aurora was used as a code name for a variety of projects, probably aimed at the production of hypersonic aircraft for the military. The hypothetical contractor, Lockheed, which also developed the F-117A Stealth fighter/bomber and the U2 Dragon Lady, has probably already spent a budget of $4-5 billion.
Various sightings and observations have been made since the alleged development and prototyping period in the 1980s, both by individuals and by weather sensors.
As an intriguing subject shrouded in secrecy, the Aurora has been featured in popular games and other media, including the Command & Conquer: Generals computer game, the film Falcon Down, and the novel Area 51.
The aurora has intrigued me for years that I have developed an origami model of it. Having done research on future applications of origami, my wildest dream is to see the origami model of Aurora that I develop land on Mars and find its way back to Earth. This is no longer a pipe dream. Who knows?
