The world’s first wooden satellite finally has a launch timeline. The one-of-its-kind satellite will be launched later this year, and it’s bringing along a selfie stick to celebrate the occasion, reports Defense One.
The WISA Wooodsat, a collaboration between cubesat startup Arctic Astronautics and the ESA, has an outer shell built from birch-plywood, a material touted to be resilient to the harsh environment of space.
Leaving no space junk behind
The tiny wooden satellite was certified by the ESA on July 9 and will take flight aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket later this year. Wood would also design the satellite in a way that it completely burns itself while reentering, ensuring it doesn’t leave behind any space junk.
“I started half-seriously to think about wooden satellite(s), because I’ve been doing wooden aircraft models, have been flying ‘real’ planes made of wood, and I have been involved with space technology since [the] 1990s,” Arctic Astronautics chief strategy officer Jari Mäkinen told Defense One. “I felt that wood might be a good material, especially plywood.”
During the initial testing, the company sent a test flight balloon carrying a cubesat-sized box made of the same material as the satellite. Surprisingly, the material held up really well in the upper atmosphere, Mäkinen added.
Two years in outer space
It is not the only company that makes wooden satellites. Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry announced a collaboration with Kyoto University to launch the first-ever wooden satellite in 2023 – which motivated the Finnish company to work even harder, as per Defense One.
The WISA cubesat also packs light metal plates on the inside to keep the electronics in place, but even these components will burn up upon reentry, leaving no junk behind. The company expects the small satellite to release vapors as it collides with corrosive atomic oxygen in orbit. A small camera will be recording this process. The tiny satellite is expected to last for two years in outer space, which will be impressive for a box built from plywood.
Besides, the satellite will also test the use of novel 3D-printed electrically conductive plastic material. If the experiment goes well, it will enable onboard 3D printing of power and data cables in space.
