The world's highest-flying paper plane

Who needs a multi-billion-dollar spacecraft to study the Earth when you can use a paper plane?

British team send homemade aircraft to the edge of space before it flies back to Earth.

Pictured here is the incredible British mission to send the plane 17 miles into the atmosphere to capture images of the curvature of the globe using a miniature camera.

The plane, which has a 3ft wing span and is made from paper straws covered in paper, was launched using nothing more powerful than a large helium balloon.

The craft soared to 90,000ft before the balloon exploded, freeing the plane to glide back down, taking photographs as it descended.

And the cost of Operation PARIS (Paper Aircraft Released Into Space)? A modest £8,000.

It was all the work of space enthusiasts Steve Daniels, John Oates and Lester Haines, who said they came up with the idea after being inspired by a project last year to send a lump of cheese into space.

The team launched the balloon from a remote spot around 50 miles west of Madrid after gaining permission from the Spanish authorities.

It took an hour-and-a-half to climb to 90,000ft before the expanding helium burst the balloon.

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