CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The wooden satellite will be launched from New Zealand on a rocket named Electron developed by an American manufacturer, Rocket Lab. According to the pre-flight tests, WISA Woodsat should survive in an orbit around 500 km. However, scientists expect the wood to get dark from exposure to UV radiation.

Detailed explanation-2: -Kyoto, Jan. 4 (Jiji Press)–Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry Co. <1911> are proceeding with the development of the world’s first satellite made of wood, aiming to launch it in fiscal 2023, which begins in April next year.

Detailed explanation-3: -The satellite, designed and built in Finland will orbit at around 500-600 km altitude in a roughly polar Sun-synchronous orbit. WISA Woodsat is a 10x10x10 cm nano satellite built up from standardised boxes and surface panels made from plywood, the same material that is found in a hardware store or to make furniture.

Detailed explanation-4: -The tiny satellite is called WISA Woodsat. It’ll test how plywood panels endure and behave in the extreme conditions of space. A Finnish satellite company, Arctic Astronautics, designed the satellite.