Japanese scientists have successfully built the world’s first wooden satellite, a tiny cuboid craft that will be launched on a SpaceX rocket in September. Developed by researchers at Kyoto University and logging company Sumitomo Forestry, the experimental satellite measures just 10 centimetres on each side. The creators believe that the wooden material will burn up completely when the satellite re-enters the atmosphere, potentially avoiding the negative impacts of metal particles generated by retired satellites returning to Earth.
The developers expressed concerns about the environmental and telecommunications implications of metal particles and emphasized the importance of non-metal satellites becoming mainstream. Takao Doi, an astronaut and special professor at Kyoto University, highlighted this point during a press conference announcing the satellite’s completion. The satellite, named LignoSat and made from magnolia wood, will be handed over to space agency JAXA next week. It is scheduled to be launched into space on a SpaceX rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in September, heading for the International Space Station (ISS).
Once in space, the satellite will be released from the Japanese ISS experiment module to undergo tests of strength and durability. Data collected by the satellite will be transmitted to researchers for analysis, checking for signs of strain and the satellite’s ability to withstand extreme temperature changes. On the same day, a rocket carrying a separate advanced satellite developed through a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and JAXA was launched from California. The EarthCARE satellite will orbit Earth at a distance of nearly 400 kilometres for a period of three years, studying
