* cheaper material
* naturally dampens vibrations -> can potentially help sensitive instruments
* naturally insulates heat better -> saves power on heating
* doesn't block radio frequencies -> lower drag in low orbits -> 50% longer orbital time
* fully burns up on re-entry
I wonder if they thought about offgassing... Even without materials as flimsy as that, offgassing from things one totally won't expect it is a big problem with satellites. Heat cycles due to night/day side changing every 90 minutes or so + vacuum, makes it a really hard problem to solve. Just can't expect it to work with wood.
For what it's worth, cork is also a large component of heat ablation shields - my understand is that it's at the sweet spot of insulation and machinability/flexibility. Processed cork is a surprisingly technical material.
14 comments
[ 243 ms ] story [ 1947 ms ] threadRelated (same company) on this recycled post from econo:
Wooden satellite heads to space in Mars exploration test (105 points, 2024, 71 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42051687
Japan to launch first wooden satellite to combat space pollution (55 points, 2024, 17 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39414641
Related - different company:
Woodsat: A Space Agency Will Launch a Tiny, Wooden Satellite (105 points, 2021, 18 comments)https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27549097
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanhui_Shi_Weixing
>The successful recovery of an FSW-0 recoverable satellite in 1974 established China as the third nation to launch and recover a satellite
>A novel feature of the spacecraft's re-entry module was the use of impregnated oak, a natural material, as the ablative material for its heat shield.
Edit: There's more! As usual, Scott Manley has it covered https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtxYP9fLMmk
"has a 50% greater tensile strength than steel and a strength-to-weight ratio that’s 10 times better. "
https://hyperioncantos.fandom.com/wiki/Treeship
https://metropolisjapan.com/why-wooden-architecture-is-makin...
https://www.decn.co.jp/?p=167777
https://www.obayashi.co.jp/en/works/detail/work_2753.html
(https://amorimcorksolutions.com/en-us/our-brands/amorim-tps/)