When we think of satellites, materials like aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber usually come to mind. But in a surprising and innovative move, engineers in Scandinavia have designed the world’s first satellite made primarily from wood. Known as WISA Woodsat, this project could mark the beginning of a new era in sustainable space technology.
A Satellite Made of Wood?
At first, the idea sounds more like science fiction than real science. Yet the WISA Woodsat is no gimmick. It is a genuine nanosatellite, built in the standard CubeSat format measuring just 10x10x10 centimeters. What makes it different is that its outer panels are constructed from birch plywood, a material more often seen in furniture than in space hardware.
The plywood used in WISA Woodsat is not ordinary wood. It has been carefully engineered, dried, and treated to survive the harsh conditions of orbit. According to the developers, the wood is coated with a thin protective layer to guard against radiation, vacuum exposure, and extreme temperature shifts between sunlight and shadow in space.
Why Use Wood in Space?
The main reason behind the project is to explore sustainable materials for space exploration. Wood offers several potential advantages:
Lightweight and cost-effective: Plywood is inexpensive and easy to produce compared to advanced metals or composites.
Eco-friendly: If wooden satellites burn up during reentry, they may leave behind less harmful debris compared to metal parts.
Accessible technology: Since wood is easy to work with, it could lower the entry barrier for small research groups or educational institutions that want to build and launch satellites.
By testing wood in orbit, researchers hope to learn how natural materials behave in the unique environment of space and whether they could be used more widely in the future.
A Scandinavian Collaboration
The WISA Woodsat project is a collaboration involving several Scandinavian partners. The plywood panels are supplied by WISA Plywood, a Finnish company, while aerospace engineers and CubeSat experts are handling the satellite’s design and systems integration. The European Space Agency (ESA) has also shown interest, particularly in monitoring how the wood survives in orbit.
Although often reported as a Swedish invention, it’s more accurate to describe Woodsat as a Nordic initiative, blending Finnish material science with broader European space engineering.
The Mission
Once launched, the satellite will orbit the Earth and send back images and data about the condition of its wooden panels. Tiny onboard sensors will measure temperature, pressure, and radiation effects. A small camera on a “selfie stick” will even photograph the plywood surfaces so scientists can see changes over time.
If the satellite performs well, it will prove that wood — one of humanity’s oldest building materials — could also play a role in the high-tech world of space exploration.
Looking Ahead
The WISA Woodsat is not expected to replace traditional satellites anytime soon, but it opens a conversation about sustainability in space. With thousands of satellites already in orbit and many more planned in the coming years, concerns about space debris and the environmental impact of launches are growing.
Using natural materials like wood might be one way to make space technology more sustainable. Even if the experiment proves that plywood can only be used for certain parts, the knowledge gained will be valuable for future design choices.
The WISA Woodsat shows how creativity and sustainability can meet in unexpected ways. A small cube made of birch plywood might not look revolutionary, but it carries big hopes. If successful, it could inspire new approaches to spacecraft design and highlight how even the most traditional materials can find a place in modern science.
Source:
European Space Agency (ESA) – WISA Woodsat Project Overview
WISA Plywood Official Site – WISA Woodsat Information
IFLScience – World’s First Wooden Satellite to Launch