The world's first ever wooden satellite is set to launch by the end of the year.
Finnish manufacturer, Arctic Astronautics, known for their educational cubesat kits for students, has designed a wooden nanosatellite called WISA Woodsat with the aim of testing the durability of plywood in the harsh conditions of outer space. The company calls it a fusion of their educational satellite, the Kitsat, and the use of wood for a satellite's structure. Arctic Astronautics has partnered with technology design company Huld as well as UPM Plywood for the project.
The WISA Woodsat will be outfitted with two cameras along with a metal selfie stick to help monitor the wood structure of the satellite.
"The wooden satellite with a selfie stick will surely bring laughter and raise smiles, but essentially this is a serious science and technology endeavor," WISA Woodsat mission manager Jari Mäkinen said in a statement.
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The Wooden Satellite's Early Beginnings
Mäkinen came up with the idea of combining wood and space technology back in 2015. The idea was then tested using the company's Kitsat model and birch plywood two years later. A stratospheric test flight showed that the wooden Kitsat model endured the flight stress and the atmospheric conditions of the stratosphere. However, the project was eventually set aside.
According to the Arctic Astronautics' website, it was not until news of a Japanese wooden satellite project helmed by Sumitomi Forestry and Kyoto University was revealed last year that the Arctic Astronautics team revived their project and manufacturing of the WISA Woodsat began in earnest.
WISA Woodsat Features
The manufacturing of the WISA Woodsat that will be launched into space is currently ongoing. The nanosatellite measures at 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm and weighs 1 kg. Apart from the two cameras and metal selfie stick, the European Space Agency will also provide a novel sensor suite for the project.
WISA-Birch plywood from UPM Plywood will be used for the satellite's structure. Different lacquers and varnishes will also be tested on the wood, according to Space.
Stratospheric Test Flight
A test flight for the WISA Woodsat was conducted at the Heureka Science Center in Vantaa, Finland last June 12 to test the systems and camera equipment in space-like conditions. It reached a maximum altitude of 31.2 km before the balloon carrying the model exploded.
The model was able to automatically take photos every 30 seconds, which was transmitted back to the on-ground team. The team was also able to communicate with the satellite for 20 minutes before losing connection. The satellite model and its styrofoam float eventually descended and landed safely into a forest.
The test flight is considered a success by WISA Woodsat head engineer Samuli Nyman despite problems with the "Souter running the ground station." Per his statement on the company websit, the battery almost ran out of power.
According to the team running the test flight, the atmospheric conditions of the stratosphere did no damage to the plywood and the overall structure of the satellite model.
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Written by Isabella James
