Japan to launch wooden satellites for sustainable space development

If you look up the sky at dusk or dawn, you may find something that looks like a shooting star, except that bright streak will last much longer than a meteor. It’s most likely to be a satellite orbiting the Earth, which is not hard to find nowadays due to the increasing number of satellites in outer space.

More than 6,000 satellites orbit the Earth today, and approximately 40% of them are functioning. So, what are the remaining 3,600 satellites doing in space, traveling at a speed of 8km/second? Nothing. They are space debris. As of 2010, more than half a million artificial objects, including space debris, are currently orbiting the Earth. The number of satellites is growing, yet how we should clean up space junk remains an unsolved issue.

Generally, low Earth orbit satellites re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere within some decades. On the other hand, high Earth orbit satellites zip around the Earth for hundreds of years. And when they re-enter the atmosphere, they burn and cause pollution by releasing harmful substances which could last in the atmosphere for years.

Also, despite the fact the world is facing a host of problems related to the new space race, more businesses are planning to launch satellites in the coming years. However, the space debris problem poses threats of objects falling to the Earth, or smashing into other objects in space (which cause serious damage because they travel extremely fast).

Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, a Japanese logging company, have announced the start of the “LignoStella Project” to create a sustainable satellite made out of wood. “Ligno” meaning related to wood, and “stella” means a star. The project strives to develop wooden satellites and will research the viability of wooden materials in space.

Because electromagnetic waves and geomagnetism can penetrate wood, this wooden satellite can simplify its structure by placing parts like the antennas inside. Moreover, wooden satellites will completely burn when they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere without releasing harmful substances like alumina particles. It will be unlike the existing satellites, thus eliminating the negative impact on the environment.

The space race is heating up year by year, contributing to space development and accelerating changes in various technologies. However, we mustn’t forget to develop new technology from a sustainability point of view. Otherwise, we will pay the price in the future. But LignoStella Project is supportable and sustainable. It also has a chance to cause a stir the future of space science and technology. The project plans to launch its first wooden satellite, “LignoSat,” in 2023, which will be the first but doubtlessly not the last sustainable satellite to orbit the Earth.