MWorld’s First Wooden Satellite Aims To Prove Plywood Can Survive Space
Microsoft News | 6/14/21 | Amanda Kooser

Toothpicks. Tables. Crates. Spoons.

Satellites?

An ambitious project will send a tiny wooden satellite into orbit later this year to see if it can stand up to the brutal conditions of space.

The WISA Woodsat is a 4-inch (10-centimeter) square satellite that’s scheduled for a fall launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket in New Zealand. Getting to orbit is only part of the adventure. Once there, the team will monitor the little cube to see how its plywood build stands up to cold, heat, radiation and the vacuum of space.

Woodsat is the brainchild of Jari Makinen, co-founder of CubeSat replica kit company Arctic Astronautics. The European Space Agency, or ESA, is providing a suite of sensors to track the satellite’s performance and will also help with pre-flight testing.

“The base material for plywood is birch, and we’re using basically just the same as you’d find in a hardware store or to make furniture,” said Woodsat chief engineer and Arctic Astronatics co-founder Samuli Nyman in an ESA statement last week.

The plywood used in the satellite has been dried out and treated to give it a better chance of standing up to space conditions. Woodsat’s team expects the exterior to darken, but will also be looking to see if any cracks develop while it’s in orbit.