Tokyo — The world’s first wooden satellite has been built by Japanese researchers who said their small cube-shaped spacecraft will be launched into space in September on a SpaceX rocket.
Each side of the experimental satellite, developed by scientists from Kyoto University and logging company Sumitomo Forestry, measures four inches.
The makers expect the wooden material to burn up completely when the device re-enters the atmosphere – potentially providing a way to prevent the formation of metal particles when a retired satellite returns to Earth.
The metal particles could have a negative impact on the environment and telecommunications, the developers said as they announced the satellite’s completion on Tuesday.
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“Satellites that are not made of metal should become mainstream,” Takao Doi, an astronaut and special professor at Kyoto University, told a news conference.
The developers plan to hand over the satellite, made of magnolia wood and called LignoSat, to space agency JAXA next week.
It will be sent into space on a SpaceX rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in September, bound for the International Space Station (ISS), they said.
From there, the satellite will be released from Japan’s ISS experiment module to test its strength and durability.
“Data will be sent from the satellite to researchers who can check for signs of stress and whether the satellite can withstand large temperature fluctuations,” a Sumitomo Forestry spokeswoman told AFP on Wednesday.
Also on Tuesday, a rocket carrying a separate advanced satellite – a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and JAXA – was launched from California on a mission to investigate the role clouds can play in the fight against climate change.
The EarthCARE satellite will orbit nearly 250 miles above Earth for three years.
