Timber! Japan launches world’s first wooden satellite into space

Researchers in Japan have launched the world’s first wooden satellite to test the feasibility of using timber in space. Dubbed LignoSat2, the small “cubesat” was developed by Kyoto University and the logging firm Sumitomo Forestry. It was launched on 4 November to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Given the lack of water and oxygen in space, wood is potentially more durable in orbit than it is on Earth where it can rot or burn. This makes it an attractive and sustainable alternative to metals such as aluminium that can create aluminium oxide particles during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Work began on LignoSat in 2020. In 2022 scientists at Kyoto sent samples of cherry, birch and magnolia wood to the ISS where the materials were exposed to the harsh environment of space for 240 days to test their durability.

While each specimen performed well with no clear deformation, the researchers settled on building LignoSat from magnolia – or Hoonoki in Japanese. This type of wood has traditionally been used for sword sheaths and is known for its strength and stability.

LignoSat2 is made without screws of glue and is equipped with external solar panels and encased in an aluminium frame. Next month the satellite is expected to be deployed in orbit around the Earth for about six months to measure how the wood withstands the environment and how well it protects the chips inside the satellite from cosmic radiation.

Data will be collected on the wood’s expansion and contraction, the internal temperature and the performance of the electronic components inside.

Researchers are hopeful that if LignoSat is successful it could pave the way for satellites to be made from wood. This would be more environmentally friendly given that each satellite would simply burn up when it re-enters the atmosphere at the end of its lifetime.

“With timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live and work in space forever,” astronaut Takao Doi who studies human space activities at Kyoto University told Reuters.