World’s first wooden satellite built by Japan researchers

Japanese researchers from Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry have built the world's first wooden satellite, LignoSat, a 10-centimeter cuboid set to launch on a SpaceX rocket in September. Made from magnolia wood, this experimental satellite aims to reduce metal debris generated when satellites re-enter Earth's atmosphere. LignoSat will be delivered to JAXA next week and sent to the ISS from the Kennedy Space Center. There, it will be released to test its durability and temperature resistance, with data relayed back to researchers. Concurrently, a separate ESA and JAXA satellite mission, EarthCARE, launched to study clouds' impact on climate change, will orbit 400 kilometers above Earth for three years.