- Kyoto University will develop a wooden satellite to launch into orbit in collaboration with Japanese forestry company Sumitomo Forestry.
- The idea is that a device made of wood can burn safely on re-entry and will create less space junk.
- Space waste is becoming a growing concern among experts, who say it poses an environmental risk.
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The BBC reports that Kyoto University, in collaboration with a Japanese forestry company, will develop wood satellites into orbit by 2023 in an effort to cut space junk.
Takao Doi, a professor at Kyoto University and a Japanese astronaut, told the BBC that the advantage of a wooden satellite is that if it comes out of orbit and burns on re-entry, it will not release as many harmful particles as metal satellites.
“We are very concerned about the fact that all the satellites that re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere burn to form small alumina particles that will float in the upper atmosphere for many years to come. […] Ultimately it will affect the Earth’s atmosphere, ”Doi said.
Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry will begin experiments on how different types of wood can withstand extreme conditions on Earth, with a view to developing wood that can withstand wild fluctuations in temperature and sunlight.
Space waste and debris are becoming a growing concern among experts. Daniel Geltrog, director of the Center for Space Standards and Innovation (CSSI), told the business that space debris is increasingly a concern, and the collision of two huge space debris ranging from one to ten metric tons – is the biggest environmental risk. Internal. Although estimates vary, LTTROJ said the CSSI estimates that there are currently 60,600,000 objects larger than a centimeter in orbit.
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This number is always increasing, especially as commercial companies launched their own constellations of satellites. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched about 900 of its high-speed Internet Starlink satellites so far, and plans to finally launch between 12,000 and 42,000.
Amazon is leading a similar project called Project Kuiper, which received FCC approval to launch 3,236 satellites in July.
