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World's first wooden satellite tested

Wooden Satellites - Level 4

Technology is getting back to nature with a satellite that is mostly made from wood. It is just 10cm cubed in size. The Woodsat is the idea of Jari Makinen, co-founder of Arctic Astronautics. Mr Makinen tested his device in the stratosphere. A weather balloon took it to an altitude of 30km above Earth. The balloon exploded and Woodsat safely came back to Earth. All communications equipment survived the harsh conditions as it came back.

Makinen plans to launch Woodsat into space this year. He started a company to produce wooden copies of orbit-ready satellites. He explained: "I've always enjoyed making model planes...Having worked in the space education field, this got me wondering why we don't fly any wooden materials into space." He thought of the idea for Woodsat in 2017 and "the project just snowballed". He found a commercial backer to help him realise his dream.

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Wooden Satellites - Level 5

Advanced technology is getting back to nature with the testing of a satellite that is largely made from plywood. The Woodsat is the brainchild of engineer Jari Makinen, co-founder of a company called Arctic Astronautics. It is just 10cm cubed in size. Mr Makinen tested his DIY device in the stratosphere. He attached it to a weather balloon and it went to an altitude of 30km above Earth. As planned, the balloon exploded and Woodsat safely parachuted back to Earth. All communications equipment survived the harsh conditions as it came back.

Makinen plans to launch Woodsat into space this year to achieve his dream. He started a company to produce wooden replicas of orbit-ready miniature satellites. He explained: "I've always enjoyed making model planes that involve a lot of wooden parts. Having worked in the space education field, this got me wondering why we don't fly any wooden materials into space." He thought of the idea for Woodsat in 2017 and "the project just snowballed". He said: "We found commercial backing, and secured a [place] on...a launcher from Rocket Lab in New Zealand."

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Wooden Satellites - Level 6

Cutting-edge technology is getting back to nature. A company has tested a new satellite that is predominantly made from plywood. The satellite is called Woodsat. It is the brainchild of engineer Jari Makinen, co-founder of a Finnish company called Arctic Astronautics. It is just 10cm cubed in size. He has already successfully tested his DIY, but high-tech, device in the stratosphere. He attached it to a weather balloon, which took it to an altitude of 30km above Earth - just before the endless expanse of space itself. The balloon exploded (as planned) and Woodsat safely parachuted back to Earth. Mr Makinen happily reported that all communications equipment survived the harsh conditions.

Makinen plans to launch Woodsat into space later this year. He said it was the realisation of a dream. He started a company to produce fully functional wooden replicas of orbit-ready miniature satellites called CubeSats. These are used for space research, education and hobby purposes. Makinen explained: "I've always enjoyed making model planes that involve a lot of wooden parts. Having worked in the space education field, this got me wondering why we don't fly any wooden materials into space." He came up with the idea for Woodsat in 2017 and "the project just snowballed". He said: "We found commercial backing, and secured a berth on an Electron launcher from Rocket Lab in New Zealand."

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson