The University of Kyoto, Japan, is developing a wooden exterior satellite in collaboration with a local company. According to Japanese scientists, quoted by the BBC, wooden satellites could help solve problems related to the accumulation of space debris. Japan could launch the first satellite made of wood in 2023.
The university is going to test variously treated types of wood in demanding conditions on Earth. Satellites are usually made of aluminum, titanium, alloys or other composite materials. “The next phase (research) will be to create a satellite model,” said Kyoto University professor and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi.
According to researchers, the construction of wooden satellites could help solve the problem of space debris. “We are very concerned that the satellites will burn when they return to the atmosphere and form a large number of small aluminum parts, which will then float in the high part of the atmosphere for several years,” Doi said.
According to the researchers, the wooden satellites would burn completely without leaving any harmful or dangerous parts.
Experts warn of the growing danger of garbage in space, reports BBC News. Space debris usually consists of already non-functional satellites or other bodies launched into space. According to the World Economic Forum, there are 6,000 satellites orbiting the Earth, 60 percent of which are inoperative.
Concerns about the accumulation of space debris are growing due to the increasing number of bodies being launched from Earth into space. Euroconsult estimates that almost a thousand satellites will be launched into space over the next ten years.
The expansion of the so-called small satellites also contributes to the growth in the number of launched bodies. For example, as part of the American billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink project, almost a thousand satellites have been launched into orbit since 2019 to guarantee worldwide coverage of fast internet. Thousands more of these satellites are to be launched in the coming years.
– .
