How to fold an origami space shuttle
A kite with its bottom point pleated makes the engine block, and each side folds in and swings back out from the tail as a big delta wing. Turn it over, draw the windows, payload bay and engines, and it's ready for orbit.
You need: 1 square sheet, blue or grey on one side. Medium, 10 steps, about 7 minutes.
Steps
- Crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
- Make a kite. Fold the two upper edges in to lie along the centre crease. The long point at the top is the nose.
- Fold up the tail. Fold the bottom point up along the line between the two side corners.
- Fold down the engines. Fold the tip of that triangle back down, along a line joining the points a third of the way up its two sides. Its tip pokes out below the bottom edge as the engine block.
- Left side in. Fold the left side in, creasing straight up from where the engine's left edge meets the bottom edge. The bottom-left corner lands near the engine's right corner.
- Left wing out. Fold the flap back out, creasing from the bottom of the last fold towards the nose tip. A thin sliver stays on the body; the rest sticks out as a wing.
- Right side in. Fold the right side in the same way, creasing straight up from where the engine's right edge meets the bottom edge.
- Right wing out. Fold the flap back out to the right the same way, from the bottom end of its fold towards the nose tip, leaving a thin sliver on the body.
- Blunt the ends. Fold the nose tip down, a third of the way to the tops of the side folds. Fold the engine's tip up to the line between the engine's top corners.
- Turn it over. Flip the shuttle over.
Ready for orbit!
With a white gel pen or paper dots, draw the cockpit windows, the payload bay doors, a tail fin line and three engines.