PROJECT
SPACE PLANES
Send a message in a paper plane, from space!
We'll be keeping you up to date with project announcements both here and on !
We (hopefully) finally have some good news for you astro-fans out there!
The weather at our location in Germany, near a town called Wolfsburg, is clearing up and if these patterns continue, we might be able to do our launch at the end of next week. The planes could still end up anywhere so keep your eyes peeled. If you’re lucky, you might get a message from someone else in the world, held on one of those tough little memory cards.
Our team should be flying out to Germany at the beginning of next week so we will have a better idea then of an exact date for the launch. Get excited!
We hope that you haven’t missed us too much! We’ve been busy over at Paper Planes HQ watching the weather very carefully and a little obsessively and we have some very exciting news for you all…
Our balloon launch and paper plane release is moving to Germany! Due to the weather over the UK not playing nicely, we are moving our launch site to a spot in a field just outside Hanover. This means that the balloon and our camera rig won’t be landing in the English Channel anymore so we should have a really good chance of recovering and showing you the amazing footage of space.
All that remains to say is ‘Viel Glück’!
Once again, the weather has foiled our well-laid plans and the launch will not be going ahead on Sunday. As much as we are happy about the lie-in that we can now have, we really wanted to launch this weekend. Look how sad we are! We’ll have a better idea on Monday as to when we can launch our crew of tough little memory cards into space so check back then for news. Have an astronomical weekend.
We know that the memory cards are more than tough enough to withstand the sub-zero temperatures of space but can the camera? Steve has tested it for us using a fire extinguisher to freeze the camera to -48 degrees celsius! As you can see from the film, the camera survived. Bring it on Space, we’re ready for you!
According to the weather tracking software, our high altitude ballooning expert Robert Harrison has told us that we might be looking good for a launch this Sunday October 31st! Check out the map that shows how the weather patterns are slowly moving back towards the UK. After all, we want these planes to land where YOU can find them. How exciting is this, we could be on for a launch on Halloween!
Weather Watch
Weather Watch
Oh dear, the weather has put a spanner in the works and unfortunately we are unable to launch in the next few days as hoped. We are monitoring it every couple of hours and talking to the launch team to make sure that the launch happens as soon as possible. Currently, due to the jet stream all the planes would land in the English Channel and that would be a disaster. Have a look at the map to see exactly what we mean.
Everything is getting pretty busy over here at Project Space Planes HQ! The planes have been constructed and most of the cards have loaded with all the photos, letters, films and songs you have sent in. We are hoping to launch the middle of next week but we are now at the mercy of old Mother Nature. We are monitoring the weather hour by hour to try to predict which day will make sure that as many of these planes land where you can get your mitts on one. Have a great weekend everyone and keep your fingers crossed!
Meet Andy Chipling…
This man is our resident paper aircraft designer and there is nothing he doesn’t know about them, in fact its bordering on an obsession. He loves paper planes because they are such fun and has played with them since he was a child. His greatest achievement was working with the World Records team and every 3 years he disappears to Austria for the World Paper Aircraft event in which 80 countries participates. This guy is a great asset to the team due to his knowledge and passion, even his shirt has a paper plane on it!!
Who is Robert Harrison?
He is a legend from Leeds. Who is in charge of prediction, monitoring and tracking – which is very important! He is passionate about high altitude ballooning as this is the closest he is ever going to get to space. His claim to fame is having a week of global fame due to his involvement in this field and he is quite proud of having his photos from space viewed by 1.8 billion people. For the past two years he has also held the current UK altitude record. Amateur high-altitude balloonists don’t come much cooler than our Robert.