This Japanese Company Wants to Send Wooden Satellites Into Space
It sounds silly, but a company called Sumitomo Forestry, along with Kyoto University, is developing wooden satellites to reduce space junk.
When you think of spacecraft, you almost certainly picture gleaming aluminum, high-tech thermal ceramics, and heavy duty steel. The term “space age material” exists purely to take advantage of those preconceived notions. But that doesn’t mean more traditional materials can’t be used. In some cases, old-fashioned construction materials might even be more appropriate. A Japanese company called Sumitomo Forestry is collaborating with Kyoto University to begin testing the practicality of sending wooden satellites into space, and the idea isn’t as crazy as it sounds at first.
At this time, the US Space Surveillance network is tracking approximately 20,000 artificial objects that are in orbit around the Earth. Only a little more than 2,000 of those are satellites that are currently operational and the rest is space debris or “space junk.” Those are non-operational satellites, cast-offs from launches, and other material that we have managed to leave in space. That number doesn’t even include the many millions of small pieces of debris that are not tracked individually. All of that space junk is becoming more and more of a hazard to our spacecraft, because they move at very high speeds and can cause very serious damage in the event of a collision. Launches have to be coordinated to avoid that debris, while satellites and space stations need to be put in orbits that keep them away from those hazards.
There isn’t a practical way to clean up existing space junk at this time, but Sumitomo Forestry thinks they can keep it from growing. The idea is to build somewhat disposable satellites out of wood. Once those satellites have outlived their usefulness, they can be put into decaying orbits. Thanks to their wood construction, the satellites will easily burn up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Today’s satellites are made of materials like aluminum and Kevlar that can survive re-entry and that have to be “aimed” for oceans or unpopulated areas. These wood satellites are safer in that regard and would also be cheaper to build. Wood could be more viable than you might think, because it is relatively strong for its weight and it doesn’t block EM waves. That means antennas could be tucked neatly inside of the satellite’s housing, resulting in a more compact satellite. The team will start with simulations on Earth to determine how wood holds up in space-like conditions and hopes to have a wooden satellite ready for testing by 2023.