World's first wooden satellite launched into space

Tokyo, Japan - The world's first wooden satellite has blasted off on , its Japanese developers said this week, part of a resupply mission to the International Space Station.

The world's first wooden satellite made from wood and named LignoSat, developed by scientists at Kyoto University and logging company Sumitomo Forestry, is shown during a press conference at Kyoto University in Kyoto on May 28, 2024. © STR / JIJI PRESS / AFP

Scientists at Kyoto University expect the wooden material to burn up when the device re-enters the atmosphere – potentially providing a way to avoid generating metal particles when a retired satellite returns to Earth.

These particles may negatively impact both the and telecommunications, the developers say.

Each side of the box-like experimental satellite, named LignoSat, measures just 10 centimeters (four inches).

It was launched on an unmanned rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Kyoto University's Human Spaceology Center said.

The satellite, installed in a special container prepared by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, "flew into space safely," it said in a post on X.

A spokeswoman for LignoSat's co-developer Sumitomo Forestry said that the launch had been "successful."

It "will arrive at the ISS soon, and will be released to outer space about a month later" to test its strength and durability, she said.

Data will be sent from the satellite to researchers who can check for signs of strain and determine if the satellite can withstand extreme changes in temperature.

#Japanese scientists from Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry have developed the world’s first wooden satellite, named #LignoSat.

The purpose behind it to test the resilience of wood, specifically Japanese honoki (magnolia) wood, in space conditions over six months. pic.twitter.com/nCLdQW52wm

— Prashant Kumar (@ParshantRajan) November 4, 2024

Japanese scientists launched the LignoSat, the world's first wooden satellite into space. It'll stay in orbit for six months in an attempt to prove wood is a space-grade material https://t.co/VZ6vrTEBEw pic.twitter.com/JLNW2ZSYCp

— Reuters Asia (@ReutersAsia) November 5, 2024

"Satellites that are not made of metal should become mainstream," Takao Doi, an astronaut and special professor at Kyoto University, said at a press conference earlier this year.