The Japanese engineers have created a unique satellite that is made of unexpected materials instead of aluminum, copper, or any other metal.
A wooden satellite to orbit Earth has been constructed by experts at Kyoto University and Tokyo logging company Sumitomo Forestry, according to the Japan Times. It will be launched in September of this year on Elon Musk’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The wooden satellite is scheduled to depart Earth bound for the International Space Station (ISS) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In order to ascertain whether the spacecraft is stable in the hostile space environment, it will thereafter be freed from Japan’s Kibo module.
Gizmodo reports that the satellite is called LignoSat and is a tiny cube constructed of magnolia wood that is 4 inches on each side and weighs slightly more than 2 pounds.
Four years ago, the concept originally came up on the issue of affordable satellites and how to deal with space trash.
Although some of the space probe’s components are made of aluminum, wood makes up only a portion of its construction. When it returned to Earth’s atmosphere, it would burn up completely.
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