Parksville, BC, Canada / 88.5 The Beach
Jan 8, 2021 11:34 AM
A wooden satellite will be launched into space in 2023 to study how the organic material holds up in the vacuum outside our atmosphere. Wooden satellites would create a harmless alternative to metal ones, and significantly cut down on space junk orbiting the Earth which is expected to become a serious problem for spacefarers in the near future. Researchers and space experts from Kyoto University, including a former Japanese astronaut, are working with the Sumitomo Group, a nearly 400-year old company, on the development and testing of special kinds of wood that can survive in the harsh environment of space. A translation of a press release regarding the innovation, known as the LignoStella project, explains some of the benefits of using wood. “Since wood transmits electromagnetic waves and geomagnetism, if the artificial satellite is made of wood, an antenna and attitude control device can be installed inside the satellite, and the satellite structure can be simplified.”