The world’s first wooden satellite went into space

Made in Japan, the world’s first wooden satellite has been sent into space aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship and will soon arrive at the ISS. The wooden satellite will then be launched on a solo flight at an altitude of 400 km to test the natural material’s resistance to temperature extremes, vacuum, and to evaluate its ability to protect on-board electronics from radiation. Japan is confident that wood will become indispensable in space exploration, and they are ready to prove it.

Image source: japantimes.co.jp

The development and creation of the LignoSat satellite with an edge length of 10 cm took more than four years. The satellite was created by Japanese scientists together with specialists from the woodworking company Sumitomo Forestry. Sumitomo Forestry believes that if aviation began with wood, then wooden satellites can also follow this path. In addition, wood is an environmentally friendly and renewable resource.

Wood in a vacuum does not burn, does not rot or deteriorate. Before making the wooden parts of LignoSat, samples of different types of wood with and without varnish were sent to the ISS for 10 months for testing in outer space. The most suitable for use in outer space turned out to be the Japanese variety of magnolia – honoki, from which scabbards for samurai swords – katana are traditionally made.

Japanese scientists, led by former Japanese astronaut and Kyoto University professor Takao Doi, have developed a 50-year plan to grow plantations to produce wood for space purposes. They believe that wood will become the space material of the future, which will be used to colonize the Moon and Mars, as well as to create satellites. If wood’s good shielding ability against cosmic radiation is confirmed, this will allow wood to be promoted for the construction of data centers on Earth.

As modern aluminum-bodied satellites fall back to Earth, they create oxide of this metal and disperse it into the atmosphere. This is already seriously worrying scientists and could result in an environmental disaster for the planet. The tree is practically harmless in this regard, and Japanese scientists hope to transfer this technology to Elon Musk.

«It may seem outdated, but wood is actually a cutting-edge technology as civilization races to explore the Moon and Mars, according to LignoSat developers. “Space exploration could revitalize the timber industry.”