[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Wooden Sattelites

Tue Nov 5 12:25:11 PST 2024

All,
Note: This is not an early April 1 story

Physicsworld reports the following:

Timber! Japan launches world’s first wooden satellite into space
05 Nov 2024 Michael Banks <https://physicsworld.com/author/michael-banks/>
[image: SpaceX Falcon 9 launch]
<https://physicsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/SpaceXlaunch_4-November.jpg>
>
> Wood you believe it: LignoSat2 is made from magnolia and was launched
> yesterday aboard a Falcon9 rocket to the International Space Station
> (courtesy: NASA)
> https://physicsworld.com/a/timber-japan-launches-worlds-first-wooden-satellite-into-space/Researchers
> in Japan have launched the world’s first wooden satellite to test the
> feasibility of using timber in space. Dubbed LignoSat2, the small “cubesat”
> was developed by Kyoto University and the logging firm Sumitomo Forestry.
> It was launched on 4 November to the International Space Station (ISS) from
> the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket...

[image: image.png]
Crédit : Kyoto University / @spaceKUwood sur X

via
Pourquoi le Japon va-t-il lancer le tout premier satellite en bois de
l’histoire ?

par Yohan Demeure, expert géographe <https://sciencepost.fr/author/yohan/>1
mars 2024, 16 h 25 min
[image: LignoSat2 bois satellite 2]
Crédits : Kyoto University

> Il y a quelques mois, l’Agence d’exploration aérospatiale japonaise (JAXA)
> avait annoncé vouloir placer sur orbite un satellite en bois, une première.
> Cette innovation a un objectif, à savoir réduire la pollution spatiale.
> Comment le concept fonctionne-t-il ?

https://sciencepost.fr/japon-lancement-premier-satellite-en-bois-histoire/

> Given the lack of water and oxygen in space, wood is potentially more
> durable in orbit than it is on Earth where it can rot or burn. This makes
> it an attractive and sustainable alternative to metals such as aluminium
> that can create aluminium oxide particles during re-entry into the Earth’s
> atmosphere.

Work began on LignoSat in 2020 and in 2022 scientists at Kyoto sent samples
> of cherry, birch and magnolia wood to the ISS where the materials were
> exposed to the harsh environment of space for 240 days to test their
> durability.

While each specimen performed well with no clear deformation , the
> researchers settled on building LignoSat from magnolia – or Hoonoki in
> Japanese. This type of wood has traditionally been used for sword sheaths
> and is known for its strength and stability.

LignoSat2 is made without screws of glue and is equipped with external
> solar panels and encased in an aluminium frame. Next month the satellite is
> expected to be deployed in orbit around the Earth for about six months to
> measure how the wood withstands the environment and how well it protects
> the chips inside the satellite from cosmic radiation.

Data will be collected on the wood’s expansion and contraction, the
> internal temperature and the performance of the electronic components
> inside.

Researchers are hopeful that if LignoSat is successful it could pave the
> way for satellites to be made from wood. This would be more environmentally
> friendly given that the satellites would simply burn up when it re-enters
> the atmosphere at the end of its lifetime.

“With timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to
> build houses, live and work in space forever,” astronaut Takao Doi who
> studies human space activities at Kyoto University told *Reuters
> <https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/worlds-first-wooden-satellite-developed-japan-heads-space-2024-11-05/>*
> ......

Next Gen ISS ---- Why not built out of "Lincoln Logs"
Who knew that there was a Japan connection?
from the Wikipedia article
History[edit
<https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lincoln_Logs&action=edit&section=2>
]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US1351086-Figure_1.png>Patent drawing

Lincoln Logs were invented sometime around 1916–1917 when John Lloyd Wright
was working in Japan with his father.[5]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Logs#cite_note-Carlisle-5> The mold
for the toy was based on the architecture of the Imperial Hotel
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Hotel,_Tokyo> in Tokyo
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo>, designed by the inventor's father.
The foundation of the hotel was designed with interlocking log beams, which
made the structure "earthquake-proof" and one of the few buildings to
remain standing after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kant%C5%8D_earthquake> that
crumbled Tokyo.[6] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Logs#cite_note-6>

When he returned to the U.S., John organized The Red Square Toy Company
(named after his father's famous symbol), and marketed the toy in 1918.[7]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Logs#cite_note-DoAB-7> Wright was
issued U.S. patent 1,351,086[8]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Logs#cite_note-USPTO-8>[9]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Logs#cite_note-9> on August 31,
1920, for a "Toy-Cabin Construction". Soon after, he changed the name to J.
L. Wright Manufacturing. The original Lincoln Log set came with
instructions on how to build Uncle Tom's Cabin
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom%27s_Cabin> as well as Abraham
Lincoln's cabin. Subsequent sets were larger and more elaborate.[10]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Logs#cite_note-Loewen_2000-10> The
toy was a hit, following as it did Meccano
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meccano>, Tinkertoys
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinkertoy> and Erector Set
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erector_Set> introduced a few years before.
Lincoln Logs are believed to be the first toy to be marketed to both boys
and girls and appeal to a "simple" type of creativity.[11]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Logs#cite_note-11>

Ted
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