[글로벌-Biz 24] Japan’s Sumitomo Forestry Industry promotes development of wood satellites by 2023 to reduce space waste

– Sumitomo Forestry, a subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Group, is pushing ahead with plans to develop the world’s first wooden satellite by 2023 to reduce space debris, the BBC and other foreign media reported on the 29th (local time).

Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd., in cooperation with Kyoto University, has begun research on the nature of wood and the use of wood in space, and said that it is looking forward to developing a wood satellite. Will be tested in various types of wood

Currently, as many satellites are launched on Earth’s orbit, space debris is becoming more and more problematic. Space debris travels at an incredibly fast speed of over 22,300 meters per hour and can cause significant damage to colliding objects. However, when re-entering the earth, wooden satellites have the advantage of not releasing harmful substances into the atmosphere or burning them without leaving debris on the ground and creating garbage.

“We are very concerned about the fact that every satellite that re-enters Earth’s atmosphere will burn and produce tiny alumina particles that float in the upper atmosphere for years,” said Dr. Takao Toi, a professor at the University of Kyoto and a Japanese astronaut. It will have an impact on the environment.” Professor Doi added, “The next step is to develop an engineering model for the satellite and manufacture a flight model.”

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), there are currently nearly 6000 satellites orbiting the earth. About 60% of them did not work and turned into space junk. Research firm Euroconsult predicts that 990 satellites will be launched annually over the next 10 years, which means that 15,000 satellites will orbit Earth by 2028.

SpaceX, headed by Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, has already launched more than 900 Starlink satellites and plans to launch more than thousands of them in the future.

Global Economic Reporter Park Kyung-hee [email protected]

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