Source: Global Times
[Global Times special reporter Chen Shan] Due to the special environment of space, most of the materials for manufacturing satellites choose to withstand the height of the extreme environment.Stress aluminum alloy, so Japan announced that it will launch the worlds first wooden shell this year to attract great attention from all parties.The US "Space News" website said on the 20th that this wooden satellite may have considerable prospects.
It is reported that Kyoto University in Japan cooperated with Sumitomo Forestry Corporation to create the worlds first miniature satellite made of wood and planned to be planned for inSend it into space this summer.The reason why Japan uses wood manufacturing satellites is first of all because of environmental protection.Japanese astronauts and Kyoto University of Kyoto Aerospace engineer Turururi said that due to a large number of aluminum alloy materials, scrap satellites that re -enter the earths atmosphere will burn and produce tiny alumina particles.These particles will float in the upper atmosphere for many years, which will eventually affect the earths environment.When the wooden satellites are re -entered the atmospheric layer after completing the task, only a small biodegradable ashes will produce a small biodegradable.It is reported that the treatment of retired satellites in various countries is often at high speeds to enter the atmosphere and scrap, which will cause pollution such as alumina particles during this period."So far, this pollution may not be a big deal, but as the number of space satellites has increased, it will become very serious in the near future." Statistics show that in 2008By 1,000; at the end of 2022, it has increased to 6,718; as of January 3, 2024, 8377 active satellites operate on different earth orbit.Harvard-Smiths celestial physicist Jonathan McDopeder predicts that after 5 or 10 years, 20,000 to 100,000 satellites will run on orbit.Space satellites, the treatment of a large number of retired satellites will only intensify in the future. "
In addition, there are still many extra benefits of wooden satellite shells.It is reported that because there is no oxygen in space, this means that the risk of fire in the air in the space vacuum environment is zero.The space environment is extremely dry and there is basically no life, so there is no need to worry about wood decaying because of microorganisms.More importantly, one of the main advantages of wood compared to metal is that it will not block the transmission of electromagnetic waves.This means that the antenna can be safely placed inside the satellite shell, thereby eliminating the demand for external antennas.At present, when a new satellite is sent to the orbit, the external antenna must be expanded to obtain a connection with the ground command center. In the process, you must act carefully, and you may fail if you dont pay attention.Similar situations have happened many times, which can be described as expensive.For example, in April 2023, Viasats communication satellite had problems when deploying mesh antennas, causing this $ hundred million satellite to be used.
Researchers of Kyoto University proposed to use biodegradable materials instead of metal.They set up a project to evaluate the type of wood to determine whether the wood sample can withstand the severe test of space launch and long -term flight around the earth.After nearly a years exposure test at the International Space Station, Mulanmu performed stable and not easy to crack in space environments. There was no measurement of measurement in the quality of the sample, and there were no signs of decomposition or damage.
It is reported that the wooden satellite codenamed LIGNOSAT is in the final stage of a safety review. It is expected to be in the summer of 2024 at the Japan Universe Research and Development Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency.Launch in the joint mission.
