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[Article] World's first wooden satellite, built in Japan, heads to International Space Station (www.abc.net.au)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The world's first wooden satellite, built in Japan, is being flown to the International Space Station on a SpaceX mission.

LignoSat will be released into orbit about 400km above the Earth, with researchers hoping it will prove wood is a space-grade material.

LignoSat will stay in orbit for six months, with the electronic components onboard measuring how wood endures the extreme environment of space.

Edit: added sunmary

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Is that smart?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

Wood is plentiful. They are testing wether it is viable. This is the only way to find out whether it is smart or not.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

It's interesting. I wonder about how it holds up essentially being freeze-dried in space, but things with a short lifetime might be viable. Japan has always done interesting things with woodworking, so it seems a natural step. I used to be friends with a guy who directed funding to various projects and start-ups here in Japan and wish I could pick his brain about this (though I don't believe he did anything with this).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

It's easier and cheaper to make wood than aluminium or steel. If it holds up, it would be a win.

I imagine there's all sorts of issues to iron out... The wood would have to be super dry, for example. Freeze thaw cycles in space are constant and extreme.

I don't think it's the first time wood has been used in spacecraft- I vaguely remember oak heatshields being a thing.