Japan will launch the first ever wooden satellite

Japanese scientists have created one of the most unusual spacecraft in the world - a small satellite made of wood.
The LignoSat probe is made of magnolia wood, which is stable and resistant to cracking, according to experiments carried out on the International Space Station (ISS). Plans are now being finalized for its launch with an American rocket this summer, the Guardian reported.
The wooden satellite was built by researchers from Kyoto University and timber company Sumitomo Forestry to test the idea of using biodegradable materials such as wood to see if they could serve as an environmentally friendly alternative to the metals currently used to construct spacecraft. devices.
"All satellites that reenter the Earth's atmosphere burn up and create small aluminum particles that will float in the upper atmosphere for many years. Ultimately, this will affect the Earth's environment," Takao recently warned Doi, a Japanese astronaut and aerospace engineer from Kyoto University.
To address the problem, Kyoto researchers set up a project to evaluate wood species to determine how well they can withstand the rigors of space launches and long-term flights in Earth orbit. The first tests were conducted in laboratories that recreated the conditions in space, and it was found that the wood samples did not undergo measurable changes in mass or signs of decay or damage.
"The wood's ability to withstand these conditions amazed us," says Koji Murata, project manager.
After these tests, the samples were sent to the ISS, where they were tested for almost a year before being returned back to Earth. And in this case, they show almost no signs of damage, a phenomenon that Murata attributes to the fact that there is no oxygen in space to cause the wood to burn, and no living things to cause it to rot.
Several types of wood were tested, including Japanese cherry, with magnolia wood being the strongest. That wood has now been used to build the Kyoto wooden satellite, which will conduct a series of experiments "that will determine how well the spacecraft performs in orbit," Murata said.
"One of the missions of the satellite is to measure the deformation of the wooden structure in space. The wood is durable and stable in one direction, but it can be prone to changes in dimensions and cracking in another," he emphasized to the Observer.
Murata added that no final decision has yet been made on the launch vehicle, with the choices already narrowed down to this summer's flight of Orbital Sciences' Cygnus supply ship to the ISS or SpaceX's similar Dragon mission later in the year. The probe, which is about the size of a coffee cup, is expected to operate in space for at least six months before it is allowed to enter the upper atmosphere.
If LignoSat performs well during its operation in orbit, then the door could be opened to using wood as a material to construct more satellites. It is estimated that more than 2,000 spacecraft will be launched annually in the future, and the aluminum they will likely deposit in the upper atmosphere as they burn up on re-entry may soon cause serious environmental problems.
Recent research conducted by scientists at the University of British Columbia, Canada, has revealed that aluminum from satellites entering the atmosphere can cause serious damage to the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from the sun's ultraviolet radiation, and affect the amount of sunlight. which passes through the atmosphere and reaches the ground.
However, this should not be a problem for wooden satellites such as LignoSat, which will emit only a fine dust of biodegradable ash as they burn up upon re-entry after their mission. /BGNES