Apr 13, 2021 17:40:00

Finnish student project develops wooden satellite

On April 12, 2021,

the project 'Arctic Astronautics ' launched by students of Aalto University in Finland announced the small artificial satellite 'WISA Woodsat' made of wood. It is scheduled to be launched within 2021 in cooperation with various companies.

World's first wooden satellite slated for launch – UPM partners with Finnish space companies Arctic Astronautics and Huld | Kitsat
https://arcticastronautics.fi/2021-04_worlds-first-wooden-satellite-slated-launch-upm-partners-finnish-space-companies-arctic

The wooden artificial satellite 'WISA Woodsat' is a cube with a side of 10 cm and weighs 1 kg. A special plywood called 'WISA' manufactured by Finnish forestry company UPM is used on the outside of the aircraft, and a small satellite 'Kitsat' developed by Arctic Astronautics is contained in it. It also has two cameras and a group of sensors developed by the European Space Agency , all of which are powered by nine small solar cells.

'A wooden satellite with a selfie stick will certainly make people laugh, but it's definitely a fruit of science and technology efforts,' said Yari Makinan, mission director at Arctic Astronautics. Makinan continues that the purpose of WISA Woodsat is to verify whether plywood can withstand the harsh conditions of outer space and to demonstrate satellite communications.

Makinan has long worked with the education department of the European Space Agency to realize the idea of combining wood and space technology. Although it succeeded in reaching the stratosphere with a model of a satellite made of birch in 2017, this project was once set aside. However, was reported in December 2020, Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry has announced that it will develop a wooden artificial satellite news pushed back in, and moving the project towards once again achieve development blog has been spelled.

WISA Woodsat is scheduled to be launched in the latter half of 2021 with the cooperation of the American aerospace company ' Rocket Lab'. If the launch is successful, WISA Woodsat will orbit the exosphere at altitudes of 500km to 550km.