World’s first wooden satellite, developed in Japan, heads to space
NBCNOV 2024
Wooden satellites represent an environmentally conscious solution for space exploration, as they burn up cleanly during atmospheric re-entry compared to metal satellites that release aluminum oxide particles. Indeed, metal satellites might face future restrictions due to their environmental impact, making wooden alternatives an increasingly important part of sustainable space development.
Timber has properties that are hard to control, and from an engineering point of view, it's a complex material with which to make critical structures like spacecraft parts. Prioritizing finding ways to make future space exploration sustainable is fine, but using wood in space technology is outdated and offers no real solution to reducing the space industry's environmental impact.
There's a 1% chance that there will be at least one human fatality in space due to space debris by 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.