Japan developing wooden satellites to cut space junk

Tokyo: A Japanese company and Kyoto University have joined forces to develop what they hope will be the world’s first satellites made out of wood by 2023.

Sumitomo Forestry said it has started research on tree growth and the use of wood materials in space.

The partnership will begin experimenting with different types of wood in extreme environments on Earth.

Space junk is becoming an increasing problem as more satellites are launched into the atmosphere.

Wooden satellites would burn up without releasing harmful substances into the atmosphere or raining debris on the ground when they plunge back to Earth.

“We are very concerned with the fact that all the satellites which re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere burn and create tiny alumina particles which will float in the upper atmosphere for many years,” Takao Doi, a professor at Kyoto University and Japanese astronaut, said.

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The next stage will be developing the engineering model of the satellite, then we will manufacture the flight model,” Professor Doi added.

As an astronaut he visited the International Space Station in March 2008. During this mission, he became the first person to throw a boomerang in space that had been specifically designed for use in microgravity.

Sumitomo Forestry, part of the Sumitomo Group, which was founded more than 400 years ago, said it would work on developing wooden materials highly resistant to temperature changes and sunlight. The wood it is using is an “R&D secret” a spokesman for the company said.