"Ahh, you can't beat wood!"
Posted on 12/29/2020 7:06:33 PM PST by BenLurkin
Some of the major components in most satellites include aluminum, Kevlar and aluminum alloys, which are able to withstand both temperature extremes and constant bombardment by radiation—all in a vacuum. Unfortunately, these characteristics also allow satellites to remain in orbit long after their usefulness has ended, resulting in constant additions to the space junk orbiting the planet. According to the World Economic Forum, there are currently approximately 6,000 satellites circling the Earth but only 60% of them are still in use. Some in the field have predicted that nearly 1,000 satellites will be launched into space each year over the coming decade. Considering their lifespan, this suggests there could be thousands more dead satellites orbiting the planet in the coming years. This space debris poses a significant threat to other satellites (they all travel thousands of miles per hour) and also to manned space missions. Most in the space community agree that space junk is becoming a serious problem. And there is more bad news—the aluminum used in satellites has been found to break apart when a satellite returns to Earth, creating hundreds or thousands of tiny alumina particles that wind up floating in the upper atmosphere for many years, possibly posing an environmental problem.
The major benefit of wood-based satellites is they would burn up completely when returning to Earth. But another major bonus of using wood to create the outer shell of a satellite is that electromagnetic waves would pass right through it, which means antennas could be placed inside of satellite structures, making them simpler to design and deploy. The researchers plan to look for appropriate wood candidates and then to conduct experiments to see it they could be treated to stand up to space conditions.
(Excerpt) Read more at techxplore.com ...
This would not be the first time wood was used to construct a space craft. The Russians used wood for their heat shields. Wood is a good heat insulator and requires a great amount of energy to vaporize - converting kinetic energy to heat energy. The vapor would then be pushed away from the spacecraft before burning.
Chinese supposedly had brine soaked oak heat shields for experimental manned capsules in 60s
Lotta laffs about that, but it probably works just fine
Certain plastics are made from chemicals from wood.
Your toothpaste? It has stuff in it from wood.
We CAN NOT survive on this earth without the combination of products from the big three-Farming, Logging and Mining, and I consider oil drilling a type of mining.
"Ahh, you can't beat wood!"
Not tinny.
*AAAAAAGH*
Don’t forget the oakum
soon they will be making bicycles,cars, boats, and airplanes out of wood, maybe even home decor like desks and chairs.
Early sewer pipes were made out of wood. There are some applications where you can really find better materials than wood.
My computer is made out of wood.
Tiny Alumina Particles in the upper atmosphere!
I get stared at when I tell people that my first ship duty in the Navy was aboard a wooden ship. Some think I’m joking.
I was on a Minesweeper called The Illusive.
It was about 77 feet in length.
Small, right?
I made the mistake of referring to The Illusive as a ‘Boat’ during a conversation with the Captain.
Boy O Boy, didn’t he chew me out. Even threatened to send me to Captain’s Mast. Their version of a Court for serious offenses.
Worked with a Navy veteran. He claimed that he served on the USS Snatch.
Lol! “Steady She Comes,...I mean Goes!”
Wood was also used in the interiors of early Soviet spacecraft. This played havoc with launch weights because of the loss or gain of moisture in the wood from differences in seasoning and storage conditions as spacecraft were awaiting launch.
Spotted Space Owls rule !
Spruce Goose
[[[Early sewer pipes were made out of wood.]]]
And gas lines. (Coal gas).
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