Paper Aircraft Released Into Space facts for kids
The PARIS project was a cool experiment. It stood for Paper Aircraft Released Into Space. People from an online tech website called The Register created it. Their goal was to build a light aircraft mostly from paper. They wanted to launch it very high into the sky, into the middle of the stratosphere. Then, they hoped to get it back safely.
On October 28, 2010, the paper plane successfully launched. It went up about 90,000 feet (27,432 meters), which is 17 miles high! This set a world record, recognized by Guinness World Records. The launch happened about 120 miles (193 kilometers) west of Madrid, Spain. A team of British space fans made it happen.
The PARIS Project
Staff members at The Register were inspired by another project called Nova 1 from CU Spaceflight. They decided to start their own project on July 30, 2009. Readers of The Register voted to choose the paper plane's name. They picked Vulture 1. This name was a nod to The Register's own nickname, "Vulture Central."
The word "space" in the project's name actually means "near space." This is not the same as "outer space." The plane was not planned to go above the Kármán line. The Kármán line is the official boundary of outer space. It is defined as 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth's surface. Even so, the PARIS project was an important step in private spaceflight. This means space travel organized by private groups, not governments.
Lester Haines, an editor at The Register, reported on the Nova 1 mission in 2006. He suggested that The Register could contribute something to a future high-altitude balloon project. He asked readers for ideas on what kind of package to design. After a few years, the project was brought back in July 2009. It was named PARIS, which was a backronym (a name made to fit an existing word) for Paper Aircraft Released Into Space. The idea for a paper plane came from readers in 2006.
The paper plane was successfully launched on October 28, 2010.
Future Plans
As of 2011, The Register was working on a new project. It was the follow-up to PARIS. This new project was called LOHAN. LOHAN stands for "Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator." It was planned to be a rocket-powered aircraft launched by a balloon.
