A Japanese company and Kyoto University collaborate to develop the world’s first satellite made of wood. The satellite is expected to be completed in 2023.
Sumitomo Forestry said it had started research on tree growth and the use of wood materials in space.
The partnership will begin experimenting with many different types of wood in the extreme environments on Earth.
Space debris is a problem as more and more satellites are launched into the atmosphere.
The wooden satellites will burn easily without releasing harmful substances into the atmosphere or raining debris on the surface of the earth when they fall to Earth.
“We are very concerned about the fact that all the satellites that re-enter Earth’s atmosphere are burning and creating tiny particles of alumina, which will float in the upper atmosphere for years,” said Takao Doi, a professor at Kyoto University and a Japanese astronaut, told the BBC.
“In the end, this will have an impact on the environment on Earth.”
This problem then motivated Takao Doi and his colleagues to develop a new model satellite.
“The next stage is to develop a satellite engineering model, then we will create a flight model,” added Prof. Doi.
As an astronaut he visited the International Space Station in March 2008.
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