After messing up with the world, human beings are now junking space. With more companies sending satellites into space for telecommunication, navigation, or even for the sake of weather forecasts, experts fear that space is getting cluttered day by day. Currently, around 6000 satellites are revolving around the earth, out of which almost 60% have now converted into space junk. When this junk enters the earth’s atmosphere, it disintegrates and releases harmful gases that pollute the earth. Apart from this, the space debris comes towards the earth at a rate of 22300 mph, which is very fast.
In 2008, a single piece of debris from the space junk collided with the International Space Station and was able to chip a heavily reinforced window. So, it is important for the earth’s atmosphere and the ISS that the space junk is taken care of and more steps should be taken to reduce the cluttering of the space as much as possible.
Sumitomo Forestry and Kyoto University are now thinking to work on wooden satellites.
Sumitomo Forestry, which is a part of the 400 years old Japanese company, Sumitomo Group has now begun research with the help of Kyoto University’s experts on the type of wood that will prove to be resistant and will be capable of enduring extreme conditions of the space. Even if it burns out or disintegrates, it will not release harmful gases or substances and will be safer for the earth’s atmosphere.
Also, the raining debris from space for these wooden satellites is expected to be less dangerous if they collide with something in the orbit or the earth’s atmosphere in comparison to metallic bodies of the satellites that we have in space now.
Sumitomo Forestry has even started research on the tree growth for these wooden satellites.
Professor Takao Doi, an expert at the Kyoto University and an astronaut has revealed that the metallic satellites that re-enter the earth’s atmosphere spontaneously combust and create tiny alumina particles that can stay in the earth’s atmosphere for a very long time. This can seriously harm the atmosphere. So, with the new wooden satellites, this problem can be taken care of.
The Next Big Step
Professor Doi believes that the next step in this research is to develop the engineering model of the satellite and then manufacture the flight model. He hopes that the first wooden satellite goes out in space by 2023.
A spokesman said that the wood they are researching is a highly confidential matter and a part of a completely secret R&D project.
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