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Paper Airplane Touches Edge of Space, Glides Back

Posted by timothy on from the face-of-god-next-step dept.

itwbennett writes "Brits Steve Daniels, John Oates and Lester Haines just became the envy of geeks the world over. The trio 'built a one-wing glider from paper, lofted it to the edge of space at 90,000 feet with a helium balloon, and posted sound and video recordings from the plane as it glided safely back to the ground,' writes blogger Kevin Fogarty. The Register newspaper sponsored the stunt and reported each step of the process. And British defense-contractor Qinetiq supplied the cameras and testing chambers, says Fogarty."

158 comments

  1. DUDE! by cryoman23 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    that is just down right cool

    --
    epic sig..... ya i got nothing
    1. Re:DUDE! by perpetual+pessimist · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Yes. That is damn cool. The naysayers and nitpickers will swarm on this story soon enough. But it's still cool.

    2. Re:DUDE! by arth1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Sure, it's cool. But balloon stories are a dime a dozen right now, don't you agree?

      And to be honest, it would have been more impressive if they didn't try to make it sound more impressive by using the word "space", but instead used the now neglected word "stratosphere".
      Cause it wasn't even a third of the way up to the lowest common definition of the space "boundary", but a stratospheric paper plane? That's way cool!

    3. Re:DUDE! by sznupi · · Score: 1

      But it's still "another month, another helium balloon story"...

      Also: http://www.members.shaw.ca/sonde/

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    4. Re:DUDE! by Chris+Burke · · Score: 4, Funny

      Split the difference?

      Spaceosphere!

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    5. Re:DUDE! by causality · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes. That is damn cool. The naysayers and nitpickers will swarm on this story soon enough. But it's still cool.

      It was absolutely frickin' badass... the first ten times. Now it's just plain getting old. Hey look, someone used a weather balloon and sent it up into the atmosphere. Hey wow, someone uses a balloon and sent it up into the atmosphere, and THIS TIME it was a father and son. Whoa, look, someone used a balloon and sent it up into the atmosphere, and THIS TIME it has a glider made of paper! Really I'm at the edge of my seat, but it's getting repetitive.

      Now I know where I am. This is Slashdot (say it like King Leonitus and kick something if you need to). It's nothing to be ashamed of, but Slashdotters have a problem. After seeing the ten millionth repetition of "in Soviet Russia" or "sharks with lasers" and modding it up to +5 Funny for the 9 trillionth time, they have a very hard time admitting when something has gotten old and it's time to move on. (Someone is tempted to reply with one of those memes thinking "hah, that'll fix him, he'll NEVER see this coming!")

      Now, no one's judging anyone here. Some people are alcoholics, others have to wash their hands eight hundred times a day, while others still are just plain not nice. In the scheme of things never admitting that something is old and repetitive and redundant is pretty tame. I understand that. I'm just sayin', maybe the Slashdot crowd isn't in the best position to realize that it's OK to stop beating the dead horse. The guy who points out that the dead horse is not only dead, but also embedded in the ground, starting to decay, and really starting to smell -- well, that guy might seem like a naysayer or a nitpicker to you. That's only natural.

      Just don't be too harsh on that guy. He may be trying to help you appreciate objectivity.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    6. Re:DUDE! by inode_buddha · · Score: 5, Funny

      Would it be any better for you if we made a Beowulf cluster of them? So that you can enjoy your petrified Natalie Portman with hot grits?

      --
      C|N>K
    7. Re:DUDE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "others have to wash their hands eight hundred times a day,"

      If we strictly followed the guidelines that is - its called 'infection control' in the healthcare industry.
      ( disclaimer: IAOACNA) (I am only a CNA)

    8. Re:DUDE! by IainCartwright · · Score: 1

      the only meme that springs to my mind is "sudden outbreak of common sense"

    9. Re:DUDE! by Konster · · Score: 3, Funny

      ...Stratospace sounds much more cool.

    10. Re:DUDE! by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      Wow, it does. Make it so!

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    11. Re:DUDE! by Sulphur · · Score: 1

      Balloons and gliders predate powered flight.

      Alexander de Seversky proposed an ionic drive that would need most of that altitude to work.

    12. Re:DUDE! by causality · · Score: 1

      "others have to wash their hands eight hundred times a day,"

      If we strictly followed the guidelines that is - its called 'infection control' in the healthcare industry. ( disclaimer: IAOACNA) (I am only a CNA)

      Well, I do draw a distinction between obsessive-compulsion disorder and institutional requirements grounded in a medical basis. But maybe that's just me.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    13. Re:DUDE! by causality · · Score: 3, Funny

      Would it be any better for you if we made a Beowulf cluster of them? So that you can enjoy your petrified Natalie Portman with hot grits?

      Haha. I salute you, fellow long-time Slashdotter.

      Of course, the hot grits need to be poured down someone's pants. And someone should link to an XKCD comic or something. Preferably the GNAA will not be involved.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    14. Re:DUDE! by jamesh · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think that a day doesn't go by when someone sees a "Soviet Russia", "sharks with lasers", etc meme for the first time. I discovered the joy of "all your base" many years after everyone else. And all three of those, when done well, still give me a smile.

      You speak of the 'Slashdot crowd' like we all joined at the same time and we're all the same age and of the same background but it's simply not true. It's not even a valid generalisation.

      And the fact that someone modded something funny means that they enjoyed reading it enough to give it a mod point. And that's how this thing works. Don't be a back seat moderator. You use your mod points on whatever the hell you want and let everyone else do the same.

      Now i'm not judging anyone here, but you're all idiots :p

    15. Re:DUDE! by elashish14 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Your right, it's getting old... someone should do it with their house next!

      --
      I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
    16. Re:DUDE! by causality · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You speak of the 'Slashdot crowd' like we all joined at the same time and we're all the same age and of the same background but it's simply not true. It's not even a valid generalisation.

      The concept you're missing is called "gestalt". It's not quite the same thing as a generalization. If you don't want to appreciate that, then you won't, and that's not really my concern. Incidentally I used the repetitive memes as a lighthearted analogy. The subject of my post was the overabundance of "balloons floating" stories out there. Deliberately or accidentally, you missed that.

      And the fact that someone modded something funny means that they enjoyed reading it enough to give it a mod point. And that's how this thing works. Don't be a back seat moderator. You use your mod points on whatever the hell you want and let everyone else do the same.

      Me writing a post to try and point something out does not prevent anyone with mod points from using those points as they see fit. It's possible I might pursuade someone to reconsider how they moderate, but only if they want to be persuaded. If they don't agree with me then they will moderate however they please no matter what I say.

      I will use my own mod points however the hell I want, I always have, this isn't your idea, and I really don't care whether you approve. Likewise, I am not preventing anyone else from doing the same. Other mods don't need me to "let" them do anything. I am not their master. Meanwhile you're just upset that I might convince them of something you dislike and you veil that quite thinly. That's frankly not my problem. Worrying about this is beneath you, and if it isn't, it should be.

      Oh, one more thing. By your very own standard there, several moderators found my comment "Insightful". They enjoyed reading it enough to give it a mod point. And that's how this thing works, or so I've recently heard. I'm sure you can demonstrate the "use your mod points on whatever the hell you want" portion of your little philosophy there. Can you model for me the part about "let everyone else do the same"? Or do you feel a need to complain about that when it doesn't go the way you like?

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    17. Re:DUDE! by Shimmer · · Score: 5, Funny

      Two six-digit accounts talking about the good ol' days of Slashdot. Precious!

      --
      The most rabid believers in American Exceptionalism are the exact same people whose policies are destroying it.
    18. Re:DUDE! by rdwulfe · · Score: 1

      Ok, I agree. I was about to disagree, then I realized they said this thing went 90k FEET up. Ye gods. Only 27.4km? 100km is considered space by most space agencies, though NASA considers anyone who goes above 80km to be an astronaut (thus some Blackbird pilots are actually Astronauts). Why do these articles keep, with such huge inaccuracies, keep getting posted?

    19. Re:DUDE! by sznupi · · Score: 1

      ...(thus some Blackbird pilots are actually Astronauts). Why do these articles keep, with such huge inaccuracies, keep getting posted?

      X-15. Pot, kettle, et al ;) (I guess too many, to use the description from the headline, nerds like to think they're doing something similar to space agencies)

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    20. Re:DUDE! by sznupi · · Score: 1

      You know, some of us were lurking a bit for a few years...too bad really, considering it started perhaps in the times of 5-digit UIDs.

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    21. Re:DUDE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Sure, it's cool

      It's not even that cool. Say "paper airplane", and everyone thinks of the folded paper planes we all made so many of as a kid.

      This is just a traditional model airplane with a ton of work done to substitute paper for balsa, _just_ so they could say "paper airplane" in the headlines. It's totally disingenuous.

      Vulture 1 team, turn in your Geek Badges. You are Junior Marketing Assistants now.

    22. Re:DUDE! by Sulphur · · Score: 3, Informative

      Balloons and gliders predate powered flight.

      Alexander de Seversky proposed an ionic drive that would need most of that altitude to work.

      http://www.rexresearch.com/desev/desev.htm

    23. Re:DUDE! by zmollusc · · Score: 2, Funny

      Phew! I thought you were going to mention the nazis.

      --
      They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
    24. Re:DUDE! by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 1

      And to be honest, it would have been more impressive if they didn't try to make it sound more impressive by using the word "space"

      Or "paper airplane" when most people think of a piece of folded paper.

    25. Re:DUDE! by kaizokuace · · Score: 1

      hey old man, everyone is entitled to have some good ol' days! ;p

      --
      Balderdash!
    26. Re:DUDE! by JustOK · · Score: 1

      [citation needed]

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    27. Re:DUDE! by inode_buddha · · Score: 1

      True that; I remember *exactly* where and when the "beowulf cluster" meme started :D

      --
      C|N>K
    28. Re:DUDE! by evilbessie · · Score: 1

      Have you ever read The Register? At what point have they ever been sensible or meek? I find it more amusing that the more respected British press covered the story.

    29. Re:DUDE! by eyenot · · Score: 2

      Yeah, I was pretty disappointed, too, when I saw the Vulture and it was a full-on aeroplane. I didn't know what I expected, maybe a huge paper plane that could somehow carry the camera, or maybe a microcamera, something besides a regular camera and what appears to be the same kind of plane radio hobbyists fly. If they had been a bit more honest there wouldn't have been this feeling of loss. Meanwhile, there's still the opportunity to one-up them via honesty, and put a real folded-paper airplane up there with a microcamera and memory stick or transmitter up there.

      --
      "Stratigraphically the origin of agriculture and thermonuclear destruction will appear essentially simultaneous" -- Lee
    30. Re:DUDE! by Lucidus · · Score: 1

      Great sig, by the way.

    31. Re:DUDE! by SolitaryMan · · Score: 1

      Well, the truth is, the difference in time is a lot smaller than the difference in IDs. You got there two years ahead of me and in terms of IDs it is 3k+ vs 500k+, but in terms of years it is 10 vs 12(?) Not so big of a difference, really.

      --
      May Peace Prevail On Earth
    32. Re:DUDE! by Iskender · · Score: 1

      Within the last 24 hours I was watching some anime where someone was petrified, and I thought "Damn, it's been too long since someone mentioned a petrified Natalie Portman on Slashdot."

      I started suspecting the meme had died. Thanks for proving me wrong!

      Also, I have poured hot grits down my pants. Thank you.

    33. Re:DUDE! by CapOblivious2010 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I was definitely thinking paper airplane... and also wondering what the "gliding safely back to the ground" was all about: it's a fricken piece of paper! How could it NOT come down safely? Is it gonna catch fire from the friction? Bury itself 100' in the ground when it hits? I think an enraged butterfly is more dangerous than an unsafe piece of paper! (though I suppose you could get a wicked paper cut)

    34. Re:DUDE! by Cederic · · Score: 1

      More to the point, when was El Reg ever a newspaper!?

    35. Re:DUDE! by eriqk · · Score: 1

      $ make it so
      make: *** No rule to make target `it'. Stop.

      Sorry, you'll have to wait a bit.

    36. Re:DUDE! by rvw14 · · Score: 1

      I'm a six digit account and will still say "get off my lawn."

    37. Re:DUDE! by cstacy · · Score: 1

      Now I know where I am. This is Slashdot (say it like King Leonitus and kick something if you need to). It's nothing to be ashamed of, but Slashdotters have a problem. After seeing the ten millionth repetition of "in Soviet Russia" or "sharks with lasers" and modding it up to +5 Funny for the 9 trillionth time, they have a very hard time admitting when something has gotten old and it's time to move on. (Someone is tempted to reply with one of those memes thinking "hah, that'll fix him, he'll NEVER see this coming!")

      I for one welcome our karma-whoring +5 Funny comedian stratospheric critics!

    38. Re:DUDE! by dargaud · · Score: 1

      Two six-digit accounts talking about the good ol' days of Slashdot. Precious!

      I started reading slashdot within months of its going online, but I registered only about 5 years later because I didn't think I'd have anything to contribute back then. At the time I came to read the articles, not the comments. So it's entirely possible to talk about the 'good old days' of /. with a high ID.

      --
      Non-Linux Penguins ?
    39. Re:DUDE! by sznupi · · Score: 1

      Isn't it mean to say that without providing a link? ;)

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    40. Re:DUDE! by jamesh · · Score: 1

      FWIW, if I hadn't posted I would have spent one of my 15 mod points modding your posting interesting, even though i disagreed with it.

      What I disagreed with was you complaining about people modding an ancient meme up to +5, which is where my 'backseat moderator' comment came from. There is already a system in place to keep the moderation in check and complaining that people didn't use their mod points the way you would have liked them to just isn't getting it.

      My post got Informative, Insightful, and Flamebait, which is kind of what I was going for :)

    41. Re:DUDE! by Yobgod+Ababua · · Score: 1

      Come on now. It's an airplane made entirely of paper (and glue)... how is that not a "paper airplane"???

    42. Re:DUDE! by jlowery · · Score: 1

      Two six-digit accounts talking about the good ol' days of Slashdot. Precious!

      I thought they said you was dead...

      --
      If you post it, they will read.
    43. Re:DUDE! by Teancum · · Score: 1

      But of course that must include the fact that in Soviet Russia, a petrified Natalie Portman with hot grits enjoys your Beowolf cluster of these things.

      Something like that, I think something got lost in translation.

    44. Re:DUDE! by deek · · Score: 1

      Well, at least, nobody should say they must be new here.

    45. Re:DUDE! by cycleflight · · Score: 1

      $ sudo make it so

      ...?

      --
      "...And who wants to make buttprints in the sands of time?" ~Bob Moawad
    46. Re:DUDE! by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      SR-71 Blackbird, service ceiling of 85kft:

      http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/sr-71/

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    47. Re:DUDE! by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Correction. This appears to be what he is talking about, but he says above 80km which is much more then 85kft. Sorry to pull a NASA level imperial/metric screwup.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    48. Re:DUDE! by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Do you have a link to pictures of the "airplane" I couldn't find any on the three links, only pictures took from the airplane.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    49. Re:DUDE! by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 1

      Not saying it wasn't, just that people have a different reaction to the term "paper airplane".

      They could have used wood just as easily with this sort of structure.

    50. Re:DUDE! by budgenator · · Score: 1

      In the Soviet Union, Natalie Portman packs Hot grits up your goat.cx!

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
  2. Which edge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The edge of space would be the end of the universe which is expanding until ...

  3. wtf by doughnutguy · · Score: 5, Funny

    When you said "the edge of space" I thought you meant the border of the universe, so I was all WTF.

    1. Re:wtf by causality · · Score: 3, Informative

      When you said "the edge of space" I thought you meant the border of the universe, so I was all WTF.

      Apparently a little buoyancy goes a long way.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    2. Re:wtf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I think the only questions that really matter are: Did it make it to the front of the classroom? Did the teacher see who threw it?

    3. Re:wtf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently a little buoyancy goes all the way. FTFY

    4. Re:wtf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the other edge dude

    5. Re:wtf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      depends on how Buddhist you are

    6. Re:WTF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3. Not edge of space.
      4. No video.

  4. $13,000 by Guerilla+Antix · · Score: 1

    I found the $13,000 in funding a letdown as the synopsis led me to believe the whole thing was a more home grown affair.

    1. Re:$13,000 by TheLink · · Score: 1

      I guess you'd prefer this one? http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/10/03/1945228/Brooklyn-Father-And-Son-Launch-Homemade-Spacecraft

      Maybe those in need of karma can start copying the +5 comments from that story to here. I'm sure most would still apply... :)

      --
    2. Re:$13,000 by c6gunner · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That is "homegrown". Some hobbyists spend that much building a single RC-aircraft. Get together with 5 or 6 like-minded friends, and you can put together a similar project no problem.

    3. Re:$13,000 by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      Most hobbiests don't have the backing of a newspaper and a defence contractor.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    4. Re:$13,000 by sirrunsalot · · Score: 1

      This isn't news at all.

      Now if only the father had put the boy in the balloon....

      Wait, that's no good...

    5. Re:$13,000 by causality · · Score: 1

      Most hobbiests don't have the backing of a newspaper and a defence contractor.

      Well, newspapers have slow news days and (though it's their own damn fault) defense contractors are always in need of good PR. Sounds like this hobbyist was ready for a little exploitation, er I mean assistance.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    6. Re:$13,000 by jmitchel!jmitchel.co · · Score: 1

      For "newspaper" read "website somewhat more professional than /."

    7. Re:$13,000 by sznupi · · Score: 1

      The amount of effort and precedences counts, too... This one is nice, and more than a bit similar to TFA (though better)

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    8. Re:$13,000 by mjwalshe · · Score: 1

      mieow saucer of milk for J Mitchel:-) but el reg is probably much more "professional" when it comes to tech stories than 99.9% of newspapers.

  5. "...Qinetiq supplied..." by John+Hasler · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Cheat.

    --
    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
  6. I've been trolling it for years on /. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We need to replace heavy lift vehicles with He balloon's lifting a reusable launch platform - enough He to lift the space shuttle would get it higher than it's first booster stage AND be reusable at a ridiculously smaller cost.

    1. Re:I've been trolling it for years on /. by GigsVT · · Score: 1

      I guess you are literally trolling.

      The energy you save from helium lifting up is exactly the same amount of energy you need to spend to bring it back down to "reuse" it.

      Not to mention, helium is really expensive. It takes about $100 of helium to lift 5 pounds (ballpark).

      You'd do better just using specialized jet engines to take things up to 75,000 feet or so, even as inefficient as they are.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
    2. Re:I've been trolling it for years on /. by benjamindees · · Score: 1

      If you used hydrogen, you could use it for rocket fuel as well.

      Send up a hydrogen balloon along with some solar panels and a compressor. Once it reaches altitude, it starts liquifying some of the hydrogen. It would take a while, but it's cold up there so it shouldn't be too hard.

      Then send up another balloon with your rocket. Once they meet, the rocket ditches it's balloon and fills up on liquid hydrogen, then continues into space.

      --
      "I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
    3. Re:I've been trolling it for years on /. by wierd_w · · Score: 1

      Not exactly. The lift capacity of helium is how much atmosphere it can displace; Creative use of an air compressor in the lift vehicle would reduce it's volume, thus increasing density, and thus reducing lift.

      Thus, to "Descend", you just turn on a solar powered air compressor, suck up the HE in the lift bag, and the whole show slowly sinks back to earth.

    4. Re:I've been trolling it for years on /. by GigsVT · · Score: 1

      Old message I know, but the energy you put into compressing the helium is probably more than you think.

      The real first law of thermodynamics, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

      I didn't even bring up the question of orbital mechanics. The simple version is that "being up high" doesn't actually get you much closer to being in orbit if your velocity in relation to the earth is still nearly zero. Getting into orbit requires a certain amount of delta V.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  7. That's pretty cool. by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It seems the new cool thing is to take stuff up high in a balloon and drop it. I must say I'd love to do it too, but it doesn't seem very newsworthy anymore.

    1. Re:That's pretty cool. by SixDimensionalArray · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I would hope that we would rather consider the meaning of the fact that the general public has an interest in reaching space again, and by doing it themselves. Sure, maybe a balloon to the upper reaches of the atmosphere is not anywhere close to launching an Atlas rocket, but I for one am glad that people are still dreaming, and experimenting!

    2. Re:That's pretty cool. by Target+Practice · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, now it just depends on what you drop from that height. Think international Lawn Darts.

      --
      There's a 68.71% chance you're right.
    3. Re:That's pretty cool. by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      I would hope that we would rather consider the meaning of the fact that the general public has an interest in reaching space again, and by doing it themselves.

      The problem is, that's not a fact - it's an opinion.

    4. Re:That's pretty cool. by SixDimensionalArray · · Score: 1

      Sure, you're right. Perhaps it's a bit of wishful thinking showing through. Nitpicking aside, is it not a positive trend that we are getting annoyed by stories of people trying to send up these balloons? There has to be some reason multiple people have been motivated to do more of these "experiments" or whatever you want to call them. I'm HOPING it's because they are interested in space, science, and fun.

    5. Re:That's pretty cool. by Vectormatic · · Score: 1

      with slashdot reporting, the headline will probably be 'father and son build and launch orbital weaponsplatform for two weeks allowance'

      --
      People, what a bunch of bastards
    6. Re:That's pretty cool. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am a member of the general public and i can confirm that we have an interest in reaching space again.

    7. Re:That's pretty cool. by intoxination · · Score: 0

      It seems the new cool thing is to take stuff up high in a balloon and drop it. I must say I'd love to do it too, but it doesn't seem very newsworthy anymore.

      Well that is unless you put your son in a balloon and let him go. Then the media just loves it!

    8. Re:That's pretty cool. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think it could have been newsworthy if it had actually gotten near space. 90000 feet is just a bit more than 25 kilometers, which is only a quarter of the way to the commonly recognised boundary.

    9. Re:That's pretty cool. by RichiH · · Score: 1

      > but I for one am glad that people are still dreaming, and experimenting!

      Until your plane hits one of those experiments. Or something drops on you from 20 km height.

    10. Re:That's pretty cool. by Anynomous+Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Sure, they might be interested in space, for very low values of interested and very low values of space. Frankly it looks like mankind reached a pinnacle 50 years ago, and now is going nowhere fast with the general public being happy with mediocre non-original results.

      --
      I'm not a coward by any name.
    11. Re:That's pretty cool. by Plekto · · Score: 1

      I would hope that we would rather consider the meaning of the fact that the general public has an interest in reaching space again, and by doing it themselves.

      People have always wanted to get into space ever since they knew that it was possible to do so.

      What really seems to have happened is that people have finally realized that our government lacks the will to do it any more and so they've done what people have eventually always done in this scenario, which is to do it themselves. I'm just waiting for one of the major aerospace contractors to cut ties with The Government and do their own thing. There's certainly no money left to fund anything at this point, and likely won't be for a decade or more.

    12. Re:That's pretty cool. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, been done to death.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy's_Balloon

    13. Re:That's pretty cool. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but it doesn't seem very newsworthy anymore.

      Yes but it's the Register...that site is full of intellectual pieces and participants.
      Like a more recent article: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/11/diy_zero_energy_home_server/

      Your right perhaps not "news for nerds", but definitely a "place for nerds"

      They have a lot of credibility in my book.

      ...

      But hell your right here.

    14. Re:That's pretty cool. by budgenator · · Score: 1

      Well it's not an Atlas but how about a 1/10 scale Saturn V with eight 13,000 Newton-second N-Class motors and a 77,000 Newton-second P-Class motor, that stands 36 ft tall and weighs 1648 pounds and flew to an altitude of 4440 feet?

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
  8. I guess it didn't... by Trip6 · · Score: 0

    ...burn up in reentry!

    --
    I hate being bipolar; it's awesome!
    1. Re:I guess it didn't... by lavagolemking · · Score: 1

      Nah, paper usually reaches terminal velocity pretty fast with its high surface area to mass ratio. It would have to go pretty fast against air friction to burn up. Now getting torn apart in the wind is another matter.

    2. Re:I guess it didn't... by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Re-entry heat doesn't come from friction. It comes from compressing the air in front of the thing doing the re-entering.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    3. Re:I guess it didn't... by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      The heat from compression is created by friction between the molecules under compression and the thing that's compressing them.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  9. The Register newspaper...? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't think The Register has ever been a newspaper, or has it? I have only know it as a tabloid-style IT focused news thing.

  10. Serious question by frozentier · · Score: 1

    And I'm not trolling (honestly), but that isn't the John Oates of "Hall & Oates" is it? I ask because you never know.

  11. When I first read that headline... by fishexe · · Score: 1, Interesting

    When I first read that headline, I thought, "Impossible!" Then it gradually dawned on me that they meant the near edge of space. As in the boundary of our atmosphere. Not the far edge of space, as in the boundary of the universe.

    --
    "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
    1. Re:When I first read that headline... by sznupi · · Score: 1

      Maybe not impossible, if some Japanese (who else?...) have their way.

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  12. Cue 10,000 replies by fishexe · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Cue 10,000 replies saying "That's not space!!" in 4,3,2...

    --
    "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
    1. Re:Cue 10,000 replies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The edge is defined as 100Km or 100,000m or rougly 300,000feet.. So it was launched from a third of the way there. Not bad.

    2. Re:Cue 10,000 replies by fishexe · · Score: 1

      The edge is defined as 100Km or 100,000m or rougly 300,000feet.. So it was launched from a third of the way there. Not bad.

      Yeah, the replies saying "That's not space!!" are always correct, it's just funny to see them over and over. It's almost like the /. editors post these things on purpose just to get readers' goats.

      --
      "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
  13. I smell a strange trend by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Funny

    What's next, Slinky down side of Everest?

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:I smell a strange trend by isopropanol · · Score: 1

      Slinky down from space!

    2. Re:I smell a strange trend by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Slinky down from space!

      We kinda already tried something like that.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    3. Re:I smell a strange trend by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd love to see video of that!

    4. Re:I smell a strange trend by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Slinky down from space!"

      That sounds like it could be pretty interesting. As long as an attempt is made to hit someone with it before it finally makes its way to the ground.

  14. Jet streams? by tarantinofan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Wouldn't this paper glider have encountered jet streams? How did it survive them? https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Jet_stream

    1. Re:Jet streams? by sznupi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A bit similarly to how you can, in fact, breathe inside a speeding bullet-train or an airplane. Speed relative to the ground isn't everything...

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    2. Re:Jet streams? by tarantinofan · · Score: 1

      What about the points when it entered / exited the jet stream? Won't there be turbulence at the edges of the jet stream? A bit like how jumping into / out of a speeding bullet-train could cause some damage.

    3. Re:Jet streams? by sznupi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Do you really think it's a wall of speeding air, without quite gentle (especially for a very small object) transition?... (plus, think: dainty balloons survive it routinely - in fact, the story mentions one)

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    4. Re:Jet streams? by tarantinofan · · Score: 1

      Ah, I didn't think of that. I stand corrected. :)

    5. Re:Jet streams? by camperdave · · Score: 1

      What about the points when it entered / exited the jet stream? Won't there be turbulence at the edges of the jet stream? A bit like how jumping into / out of a speeding bullet-train could cause some damage.

      Obviously it had an exit buddy.

      "Remember: Rip it, Roll it and Punch it!!"

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    6. Re:Jet streams? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Balloons in a Jet Stream isn't really a new idea.

    7. Re:Jet streams? by michelcolman · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually the transition is not that gentle. I'm a pilot, and we usually avoid flying near the edge of a jet stream. Not because it's dangerous or anything, just a bit uncomfortable. It won't damage a balloon, but the glider hanging underneath it will probably dangle left and right quite a bit.

    8. Re:Jet streams? by Anynomous+Coward · · Score: 1

      No, probably not. I assume your airspeed is quite a bit higher than that of a balloon or paper plane.

      --
      I'm not a coward by any name.
    9. Re:Jet streams? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was a PAPER airplane, not a jet.

      Idiot.

    10. Re:Jet streams? by sznupi · · Score: 1

      "It's not dangerous or anything" looks an agreement with the point I was making.

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  15. Re:Ok we get it already by beav007 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Actually, I'd prefer not only to see it happen more often, but striving for higher, and better. Competitions, and most of all, kids involved.

    Experiments are a great way to get people interested in science. We don't need to see it reported all the time, but it would be great to see the concept continued and expanded upon.

  16. JOHN OATES? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Glad to see he has finally kicked the drugs and smooth jams!

  17. Re:Ok we get it already by wierd_w · · Score: 4, Funny

    Only if the stated goal is to deliver a screaming child ever higher into the atmosphere, with video and sound.

    Bonus points if they come down in one piece.

  18. Re:Ok we get it already by sznupi · · Score: 2, Informative

    A balloon has some fundamental limitations, a...ceiling. To which your average helium balloon is quite close and overcoming it requires pretty high tech. Once you get the hang of proper handling (ever more difficult with higher tech), what limits you is the (lack of) atmosphere and slight manufacturing faults of the balloon.

    That said - yes, it's fun. Yes, we don't need to see it reported all the time.

    --
    One that hath name thou can not otter
  19. Newspaper? by rueger · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I am more than a bit astonished that Slashdot eds, much less the poster would refer to El Reg as a "newspaper."

    Do none of these people honestly know that The Register is one long lived, entertaining, and generally informative tech web site, and that it was the creator of the ever popular and true to life adventures of BOFH?

    Oh right, their URL ends with .co.uk, so they're not Amurrican....

    --
    Three Squirrels
    1. Re:Newspaper? by mmontour · · Score: 3, Informative

      Do none of these people honestly know that The Register is one long lived, entertaining, and generally informative tech web site, and that it was the creator of the ever popular and true to life adventures of BOFH?

      I agree with most of that, but the BOFH stories were around long before El Reg started publishing them.

    2. Re:Newspaper? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Umm, correct me if I'm wrong, but i'm pretty sure BOFH was around long before the Register.
      If anything they just gave Simon a new place to post them.
      http://www.plig.net/bofh/history.html

      I'd highly recommend you read the older ones if you haven't. A lot of people think the register bofh's is "all she wrote"

      Which i think they're actually paying Datamation Magazine for the digital licensing (or maybe they've bought the rights outright?)

    3. Re:Newspaper? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here is an archive: http://bofh.ntk.net/BOFH/index.php

    4. Re:Newspaper? by mjwalshe · · Score: 1

      yep i first read them on Dialcom systems in the mid 80's

  20. Re:Ok we get it already by gandhi_2 · · Score: 1

    Yes!

    Get the children involved!

    --
    THL phish sticks
  21. In Soviet Russia, sharks have lasers ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... and they launch paper planes from the edge of space to drop dead horses down on YOU!

  22. Wow I always what happened by NotSoHeavyD3 · · Score: 1

    After Hall and Oates broke up and now I know.

    --
    Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
    1. Re:Wow I always what happened by w00d · · Score: 1

      Daryl Hall never gets invited to the fun stuff.

  23. What someone needs to do... by Jafafa+Hots · · Score: 1

    ..is take this technique meta.

    Use a weather balloon to lift a weather balloon to the edge of space, then have the weather balloon release the weather balloon and then... ... uh, go to the pub and have a Bass Ale.

    --
    This space available.
    1. Re:What someone needs to do... by More_Cowbell · · Score: 1

      replying to this to undo stupid moderation... since this is my first time with the new system and I had to experiment with turning various parts of noscript off...

      --
      Experience teaches only the teachable. -AH
  24. NEXT time.... by RevWaldo · · Score: 1

    Drop a sackful of regular paper airplanes made of some fluorescent 8.5 x 11 sheets (or A4 for you Brits), with a phone number printed on them, and see who calls.

    .

    --
    Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
  25. All Your Base by codepunk · · Score: 1

    All Your Base!

    --


    Got Code?
  26. Re:Ok we get it already by eugene+ts+wong · · Score: 1

    Also, they aren't discovering anything really new, even though they are squandering the limited resource of helium,

    --
    testing out my trending skills
  27. Register by LordSnooty · · Score: 1

    Ah, this 'story' is typical Register... overblown, late, with too large an idea of its own importance and not very funny. And haven't they gone to town on it, with reports on testing etc. Why so much focus? Ah, I see, sponsored by big web host and big space contractor...

    1. Re:Register by mjwalshe · · Score: 1

      thats our British irony watch Top Gear for more of the Same

  28. Re:Ok we get it already by JustOK · · Score: 1

    they were outside. there's no ceiling outside.

    --
    rewriting history since 2109
  29. It's not a paper airplane by stevegee58 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but it has an airframe and the skin is some kind of foil. It's not a paper airplane by any reasonable interpretation.

  30. Headline is appropriate by Posting=!Working · · Score: 1

    The headline is completely accurate for large values of edge.

    --
    This sentence no verb.
    1. Re:Headline is appropriate by neminem · · Score: 1

      For appropriately large values of "edge", launching a paper airplane from the roof of my (3-story) apartment would be as accurate, too.

  31. Yes, that's nice, but I want to know... by LongearedBat · · Score: 1

    How far did it fly? Where did it land?

  32. edge of space? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    90,000 feet is hardly "the edge of space" -- it is less than a third of the distance to space which is defined as 100km above sea level.

  33. Hamsternaut by Kenshin · · Score: 1

    I'm waiting for the first balloon-launched Hamsternaut. Complete with cute hamster spacesuit.

    --

    Does it make you happy you're so strange?

  34. so beating the "dead horse" dead horse = validity? by eyenot · · Score: 1

    Oh yeah, well, in Soviet Russia, old gets YOU!
    In Soviet Russia, balloon weathers YOU!
    In Soviet Russia, dead horse beats YOU!
    In Soviet Russia, objectivity disappreciates YOU!
    In Soviet Russia, joke moderates YOU!
    In Soviet Russia, dots slash YOU!

    --
    "Stratigraphically the origin of agriculture and thermonuclear destruction will appear essentially simultaneous" -- Lee
  35. Re:Ok we get it already by Iskender · · Score: 1

    Also, they aren't discovering anything really new, even though they are squandering the limited resource of helium,

    Which brings us to how efficient it is to have people conserve resources by shaming them. These people might not even have known helium is somehow scarce since the prices are so (relatively) low. Let the helium prices become market prices or even tax them and people will use less right away. At the same time we remove any unnecessary stigma from using money. The same could work for oil etc.

    I'm not one of those hardcore free market believers, but even Stalinists will buy less if the prices are higher.

  36. supersonic? by stinky+wizzleteats · · Score: 1

    At that altitude, there is a possibility the plane could have become supersonic for a brief period of time (owing to very low air density). I wonder if it did.

  37. video and sound recordings? by merc · · Score: 1

    I've only been able to find photo stills on the link provided (goes to flickr). Has anyone else found the video or sound recordings provided at that link?

    --
    It's true no man is an island, but if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie 'em together, they make a good raft.
  38. Re:Ok we get it already by eugene+ts+wong · · Score: 1

    Agreed.

    --
    testing out my trending skills
  39. Re:Ok we get it already by TangoMargarine · · Score: 1

    To which your average helium balloon is quite close and overcoming it requires pretty high tech.

    Hydrogen?

    --
    Unity? Screw that: XFCE. Slashdot Beta? Screw that: SoylentNews. Australis? Screw that: Pale Moon. UX developers DIAF
  40. Re:Ok we get it already by sznupi · · Score: 1

    Hydrogen is actually the norm for weather balloon usage (because it's much cheaper). But makes only few percent of difference (in the absolute terms of buoyancy, and this means even less than it sounds like due to the rapidly dropping air density), and only theoretically - because what actually kills the balloon is disintegration due to structural failure (after being greatly expanded).

    I just used "helium balloon" because the term seems to have become customary in EN (I don't call them like that in my language), especially in the case of amateur launches.

    --
    One that hath name thou can not otter
  41. I usually have more to say but.. by gearloos · · Score: 1

    I usually have lots of satirical rhetoric and other such mumbo jumbo to such stories but in this case I only have two words to say: WOW COOL

    --
    "Computers are a lot like Air Conditioners" "They both work great until you start opening Windows"
  42. You Knew This Was Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What an incredibly misleading title. A piss-poor attempt at avoiding the very obvious "who gives a damn?" that this "news" story had coming.

  43. WTF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1. Not a paper airplane.
    2. Two wings; more if you consider the tail.

  44. how insensitive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    with a looming helium shortage, this should be a crime ;)

  45. I thought... by DaVince21 · · Score: 1

    I thought they *really* meant the edge of space, and I thought that was a bit crazy. Then I saw the pictures. I guess they mean the edge of the earth's atmosphere, not actually space.

    --
    I am not devoid of humor.