A Wooden Miniature Satellite is Set to Launch into Earth’s Orbit
Japanese researchers have built the world’s first wooden satellite, which is scheduled to be launched on a SpaceX rocket in September. Developed by scientists at Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, this experimental satellite is a tiny cuboid, with each side measuring just 10 centimeters (four inches).
The creators anticipate that the wooden material will fully incinerate upon re-entering the atmosphere, potentially offering a solution to prevent the production of metal particles when a decommissioned satellite falls back to Earth.
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These metal particles could harm the environment and telecommunications, the developers noted when they announced the satellite’s completion on Tuesday.
“Satellites constructed from non-metal materials should become the norm,” Takao Doi, an astronaut and special professor at Kyoto University, stated during a press conference.
The developers plan to deliver the satellite, named LignoSat and made from magnolia wood, to the space agency JAXA next week.
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Upon arrival, the team will deploy the satellite from the Japanese ISS experiment module to assess its strength and durability.
A Sumitomo Forestry spokeswoman informed AFP on Wednesday that the satellite will transmit data to researchers, enabling them to examine signs of strain and evaluate its capacity to endure extreme temperature changes.
Also on Tuesday, a separate rocket carrying a sophisticated satellite, a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and JAXA, launched from California on a mission to explore the role of clouds in combating climate change.
To conclude, the EarthCARE satellite will orbit approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth for three years.
Read the original article: Science Alert
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