World's first wooden satellite built by Japan researchers

Gsus4@mander.xyz to Technology@lemmy.world – 213 points –
World's first wooden satellite built by Japan researchers
phys.org
11

It's a strange but good idea that im glad is gaining traction.

Cheap and plentiful material, no heat or rot in space, apprently resitant to cracks, burns up on re-entry so no space trash.

Sounds like its got a lot of positives.

Doesn't metal usually burn up on re-entry too?

From the article.

The creators expect the wooden material will burn up completely when the device re-enters the atmosphere—potentially providing a way to avoid the generation of metal particles when a retired satellite returns to Earth.

These metal particles could have a negative impact on the environment and telecommunications, the developers said as they announced the satellite's completion on Tuesday.

Apparently, that causes radio interference, but I don't think it lasts that long (days to hours)