Engineering with Origami
How do space scientists get extremely large objects into orbit when they only have the tip of a rocket to get them there? Believe it or not, they use the ancient paper folding technique of origami.
Origami is an art that first appeared in Japan during the 6th century. Used often in religious ceremonies, the Japanese gave these folded paper gifts to each other at weddings and special occasions. The paper creations became part of stories and the Japanese culture.
Today, this ancient art, thanks to the application of computer processing power and technological ingenuity is being used by one of NASA’s most inspired scientists.
In 1989, I was invited to stay with Robert Lang (in the video below) at home in Pasadena, California and I saw for myself the genius of this man. Robert was a scientist with NASA at their research centre there. Lang is also one of the foremost origami artists and theorists in the world.
He showed me the extraordinary array of his creations like the small folded animals and insects ( in the video). He said we would often work them out while on the long plane flights he took while working for NASA.
I was hugely impressed that he had devised how to make so many things by folding a single sheet of paper! I still have pictures of his works.
While I was staying with him, Lang took me as a special guest to a large NASA presentation where there were hundreds of people from across the US and the world to witness the flyby of the Voyager 2 space probe.
Carl Sagan was the master of ceremonies. We were near the front to witness on a large screen the flyby of the Voyager 2 space probe past Neptune and its amazing large moon Titan. The room was electric. It was one of the many very memorable times in my life.
One of the speakers said that if this room was bombed, one tenth of the brightest minds in the world would be wiped out. The atmosphere was electric as we watched each frame come on the screen as the probe fly by both worlds.
When you watch the video above you will be as amazed as I was at mankind’s incredible creativity.
About the author: Gregg Thompson is an Australian entrepreneur, amateur astronomer and a founding member of the Southern Astronomical Society (SAS).
PRINCIPIA SCIENTIFIC INTERNATIONAL, legally registered in the UK as a company 
incorporated for charitable purposes. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX.
Please DONATE TODAY To Help Our Non-Profit Mission To Defend The Scientific Method.
Trackback from your site.
Jerry Krause
| #
Hi Gregg,
Very informative! Thank you for bring these HISTORICAL FACTS to out attentions!
As you wrote “One of the speakers said that if this room was bombed, one tenth of the brightest minds in the world would be wiped out.” did you forget “Origami is an art that first appeared in Japan during the 6th century. Used often in religious ceremonies, the Japanese gave these folded paper gifts to each other at weddings and special occasions.” and marvel at what a buffoon this speaker was???
Have a good day, Jerry
Reply