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+--- Thread: Article Japan’s wooden satellite survived orbit for 116 days (construction using magnolia) (/thread-18332.html)
Japan’s wooden satellite survived orbit for 116 days (construction using magnolia) - C C - Jul 7, 2025
Japan’s wooden satellite survived orbit for 116 Days. Now scientists want a better version
https://www.zmescience.com/space/japans-wooden-satellite-survived-orbit-for-116-days-now-scientists-want-a-better-version/
EXCERPT: The first LignoSat was a 10-centimeter cube made of magnolia wood panels assembled with traditional wooden joinery. An aluminum frame reinforced the structure.
The LignoSat mission had five goals: to measure strain on the wooden structure, to measure temperature inside the satellite, to demonstrate how permeable wood is to magnetic fields in space, to analyze the effects of space radiation on wood, and to establish two-way communication with scientists on the ground.
After the satellite was deployed from the ISS on 9 December 2024, though, scientists in Kyoto weren’t able to communicate with it.
Orbital data from the U.S. Department of Defense show the satellite stayed in one piece during its time in space, proving wooden satellites can work, Doi said. But without the ability to communicate with the satellite, the other four missions weren’t able to be completed, either.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any of the information we wanted to know about,” Doi said.
An analysis indicated that the loss of communication could have been caused by two failures: First, any or all of the three switches needed to activate the satellite system and deploy its antenna may not have turned on, and second, the computer program used in the system may not have started up as expected, Doi said. “We are still analyzing what happened, but we now have two reasons to further investigate.”
Despite the lack of communication, Doi recognized two achievements in the LignoSat mission. First, it demonstrated that a wooden satellite can exist in orbit without falling apart. Second, it streamlined the review process for wooden spacecraft. NASA must complete a safety review of all satellites that head to the ISS, he explained, and now that such a review was completed for LignoSat, reviews for subsequent wooden satellites will be simpler.
The Kyoto University team plans to build LignoSat-2 to be twice the size of LignoSat, with two communication systems (one inside the structure and another attached to its surface). Installing the antenna inside the satellite body reduces the drag of the structure as it orbits Earth, Doi said... (MORE - details)