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[Article] World's first wooden satellite, built in Japan, heads to International Space Station (www.abc.net.au)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The world's first wooden satellite, built in Japan, is being flown to the International Space Station on a SpaceX mission.

LignoSat will be released into orbit about 400km above the Earth, with researchers hoping it will prove wood is a space-grade material.

LignoSat will stay in orbit for six months, with the electronic components onboard measuring how wood endures the extreme environment of space.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

It's easier and cheaper to make wood than aluminium or steel. If it holds up, it would be a win.

I imagine there's all sorts of issues to iron out... The wood would have to be super dry, for example. Freeze thaw cycles in space are constant and extreme.

I don't think it's the first time wood has been used in spacecraft- I vaguely remember oak heatshields being a thing.