Lignosat, the first wooden satellite on its way to the Space Station

LignoSat, Japan’s first ecological satellite made of wood, is already on its way to the International Space Station (ISS).

It is the first space artifact with a material as surprising and ecological as wood and whose objective is the reduce global pollutiona mission whose protagonist is this probe which postponed its launch twice.

This satellite, the size of a coffee cup, has the potential to become an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional satellites. aluminum and other metals currently orbiting Earth.

magnolia wood

After checking the durability of certain wood samples in space During nearly 10 months of days on the International Space Station, the team of researchers announced that the wooden space satellite, specifically Magnolia, demonstrated minimal deterioration and remarkable stability.

The world’s first wooden satellite was built by Japanese researchers from Kyoto University and the company Sumitomo Forestry, was launched this Tuesday at 11:29 a.m. local time (2:29 a.m. GMT).

The satellite, completed in May and scheduled for launch in July and then September, was launched on a space platform Kennedy Space Center in Florida (United States), intended for the International Space Station with other supplies.

Japanese scientists are preparing to test the world’s first wooden satellite, LignoSat, developed by a team from Kyoto University and housebuilder Sumitomo Forestry, and will be launched on November 5. pic.twitter.com/Go6sSnPXP0

– Reuters Science News (@ReutersScience) November 1, 2024

Four years of research

Once there, they hope take it into space a month later, in Decemberalthough there is no confirmed date yet, as part of a first test of the use of wood in the exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Lignosat is the result of several four years of research by Kyoto University and the Sumitomo Forestry company with the aim of creating a satellite more environmentally friendly and at lower cost.

The University said in a statement following its construction that it was an “extremely valuable” step for the space and timber industry and that “will help open up the possibilities for using this material, a sustainable resource“.

The first of its kind

The CubeSat small satellite has passed rigorous safety inspections by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in which it represents theThis is the first time a wooden satellite has been approved for use in space..

It’s a 10 centimeter cube Made with magnolia wood panels 4 to 5.5 millimeters thick, with a frame partially constructed of aluminum for the construction of which the traditional Japanese carpentry method was used, based on the assembly of parts without using screws or adhesives.

He also has solar panels placed on certain sides and weighs approximately 1 kilogram. Its name, LignoSat, comes from the combination of the words “ligno”, a Latin prefix meaning wood, and satellite.

Durability of wood

The international project, led by Kyoto University and involving NASA, tested and confirmed the high durability of wood space on the International Space Station, the ISS.

The results of the experiment showed minimal deterioration and good stability of the three samples of magnolia, cherry and birchselected for the artificial wooden satellite LignoSat.

The results of the experiment showed minimal deterioration and good stability of the different samples selected for the wooden artificial satellite. Tests have indicated that magnolia wood It is remarkably durable even in the space environment.

No deformation or cracks

The statement released by Kyoto University, a participant in the project, explains that “despite the extreme environment of outer space involved significant temperature changes and exposure for ten months to dangerous cosmic rays and solar particlestesting has confirmed that there is no decay or deformation, such as cracking, warping, peeling or surface damage.

With these tests, everything is now ready for the joint launch by NASA and JAXA of the satellite which will use the magnolia woodeither Hoonoki in Japanese, to have the ideal properties for the project. The team chose this material because maneuverability relatively high dimensional stability and overall strength of magnolia.

Kyoto University explains that “build in space with futuristic materials In the space age, this may seem like an obvious option, given the fragility and combustibility of wood. this might seem to be a factor to rule it out“.

Economical and durable material

However, they argue that wood “as a natural, economical, carbon-based material, its production is considerably more sustainable than advanced alternativesand its removal, especially when dropped from orbit to the upper atmosphere, is complete and without harmful byproducts.

In other words, once its useful life has passed, upon reintroduction into the atmosphere, it will disintegrate or fall to Earth. without leaving any traces of residue like those which are now produced with the materials used such as aluminum.

Additionally, previous research (in terrestrial laboratories) has demonstrated the surprising ability of wood to withstand a wide temperature rangefrom -150 to 150 degrees Celsius. The simulated near-vacuum conditions also gave rise to negligible structural deterioration of the woodunderline the Japanese researchers.

Replace metals

And so, they sent a frame with the wood samples to the ISS to “measure the degree of erosion resulting from collisions atomic oxygen with the fibrous material and observe the effects of cosmic rays and the vacuum of space on the mechanical properties of wood,” according to Kyoto University.

In this way we want to test the idea of use biodegradable materials to see if they can be environmentally friendly alternatives to the metals with which all satellites and other space structures are currently built.

After successfully passing these tests in space, the wooden satellite was built by researchers from this university and the forestry company Sumitomo Forestry and waiting to be released.

space experience

One of the satellite’s missions once in orbit is measure the deformation of the wooden structure in space and will develop a series of experiments that will determine how the spacecraft evolves in orbit.

Wood is durable and stable in one direction, but may be subject to dimensional changes and crack in the other direction, according to the statements of the project promoters.

If wood does indeed become a truly viable alternative for satellite manufacturing, potential benefits could be realized. compared to typical metal alloys used in current constructions.

Easy, cheap and clean

On the one hand, it will be more environmentally friendly in all areas and processes. In addition, among the advantages demonstrated by its creators is that it is easier, cheaper and cleaner to produce, and that it is much more disposable when the end of life arrives of a satellite.

When they leave their orbit, satellites and components They usually burn for the most partif not entirely, in the Earth’s atmosphere. The parts that do not burn are strategically reintroduced to land in remote areas of the ocean.

The prediction is that the wooden satellites will surely burn up completely upon re-entry into the atmosphere and that, if a few small fragments of fictitious wood somehow survive the fiery fall, they will be destroyed. would decompose easily anywhere on Earth.