Interesting… apparently the advantages are:

    * cheaper material
    * naturally dampens vibrations -> can potentially help sensitive instruments
    * naturally insulates heat better -> saves power on heating
    * doesn't block radio frequencies -> lower drag in low orbits -> 50% longer orbital time
    * fully burns up on re-entry

I could have sworn I remember hearing about some historical satellites involving wood in some way and I guess it was this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanhui_Shi_Weixing

>The successful recovery of an FSW-0 recoverable satellite in 1974 established China as the third nation to launch and recover a satellite

>A novel feature of the spacecraft's re-entry module was the use of impregnated oak, a natural material, as the ablative material for its heat shield.

Edit: as usual, Scott Manley has it covered https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtxYP9fLMmk

https://archive.is/3qot3

Related (same company) on this recycled post from econo:

Wooden satellite heads to space in Mars exploration test (105 points, 2024, 71 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42051687

Japan to launch first wooden satellite to combat space pollution (55 points, 2024, 17 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39414641

Related - different company:

Woodsat: A Space Agency Will Launch a Tiny, Wooden Satellite (105 points, 2021, 18 comments)https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27549097

Next, we'll be building Treeships.

https://hyperioncantos.fandom.com/wiki/Treeship

may be a material of future - "compressed" wood stronger and lighter than steel https://www.fastcompany.com/91334748/superwood-stronger-than...

"has a 50% greater tensile strength than steel and a strength-to-weight ratio that’s 10 times better. "

Uh...nothing new here....been done many, many years ago because...easy way to stealth a satellite...