A Japanese wood
processing and construction company Sumitomo Forestry has teamed up with Kyoto
University to develop the world’s first satellite made out of wood. The goal is
to scale back space junk that's progressively increasing over the years as more
satellites are launched.
These wooden
satellites are going to be ready to spend without releasing any harmful
substances into the atmosphere or raining debris on Earth once they return.
Sumitomo Forestry has
started researching tree growth and wood material which will be utilized in
space. The partnership between the 2 will begin experimenting with wood under
extreme environments on Earth. The corporate said that it wants to develop
materials highly immune to sunlight and changes in temperature.
However, the wood it's
using remains an “R&D secret” for now, the corporate told BBC.
A professor at Kyoto
University and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi said:
We are very concerned
with the very fact that each one the satellites which re-enter the Earth’s
atmosphere burn and make tiny alumina particles which can float within the
upper atmosphere for several years. Eventually it'll affect the environment of
the world. Subsequent stage are going to be developing the engineering model of
the satellite, then we'll manufacture the flight model.
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