Japan Launches World’s First Wooden Satellite, LignoSat

In Japan, the world’s first wooden satellite was launched into space today aims to prove that wood is a space-grade material. The satellite LignoSat is scheduled to orbit the Earth for six months. According to media reports, designed by researchers at Kyoto University in Japan, LignoSat is made of honoki, a kind of magnolia tree that was traditionally used to make sword sheaths. 

The Japanese researchers conducted a 10-month experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and found that honoki was the timber most suited for



space applications. After the experiment, the team constructed LignoSat using a traditional Japanese crafts technique without screws or glue to hold the satellite together. 

The satellite will measure how wood endures the extreme environment of space, where temperatures fluctuate from -100 to 100 degrees Celsius every 45 minutes as objects orbit through darkness and sunlight. It will also gauge timber’s ability to reduce the impact of space radiation on semiconductors.