A Sumitomo Forestry design for a wooden satellite
Satellites made from wood could be deployed by Japanese researchers within the next three years in a bid to clamp down on the volume of so-called space junk.
Experts have flagged the risk posed by increased volumes of debris falling to the Earth as more satellites and spacecraft are launched.
Sumitomo Forestry, a Japanese logging company, and Kyoto University have begun work on different types of wood, testing them in various extreme weather conditions on Earth, the BBC reported.
The aim is for the wood to eventually burn up without releasing harmful substances into the atmosphere.
Takao Doi, a Japanese astronaut and professor at Kyoto, said the researchers were “concerned” about how satellites will re-enter the atmosphere.
He said that tiny particles of aluminium oxide will float in the upper atmosphere for “many years” and that they would “eventually affect the environment of the Earth”.
Sumitomo, a 400-year old company, did not disclose the type of wooden materials it would be experimenting on.
Satellite usage has grown considerably in recent years with them being increasingly used for services like navigation, forecasting and increasingly for internet broadband.
The rise of satellite launches is unlikely to slow down too with around 1,100 a year expected by 2025, according to figures from MIT. That will represent a tripling from its 2018 level of 365.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is among the biggest names in satellite launches through its Starlink project. He plans to propel around 12,000 of them into space by 2027. UK start-up OneWeb, which is building a satellite constellation to provide broadband, resumed launches in December after it struck a rescue deal with the Government earlier in the year.
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