News brief Nov. 4-8

International

LignoSat, the world’s first wooden satellite, arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday.

An unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying the cube-shaped satellite was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 5, arriving the same day.

Developed by scientists at Kyoto University in Japan, the project hopes to pave the way for more wooden satellites in the future. By swapping aluminum for magnolia wood, researchers built a more eco-friendly satellite which will not leave so many metal particles in the atmosphere when it burns upon reentry.

“While some of you might think that wood in space seems a little counterintuitive, researchers hope this investigation demonstrates that a wooden satellite can be more sustainable and less polluting for the environment than conventional satellites,” Meghan Everett, deputy chief scientist for NASA’s International Space Station program, said in a press briefing one day prior to the launch.

During its journey, the satellite will collect data on how space affects wooden objects and relay it to researchers on Earth.

“Student researchers will measure the temperature and strain of the wooden structure and see how it might change in the vacuum environment of space, and the atomic oxygen and radiation conditions as well,” Everett said.

Takao Doi, an aerospace engineer and current professor at Kyoto University, believes wooden satellites will become key in sustainable space travel.

“Satellites that are not made of metal should become mainstream. Metal satellites might be banned in the future. If we can prove our first wooden satellite works, we want to pitch it to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, ” Doi told Reuters. “With timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live, and work in space forever.”

National

Firefighters in Southern California battled the rapid spread of a 10,000 acre wildfire in an episode which led to massive evacuations on Wednesday and fire warnings for the next day.

The fire began at 8:51 a.m. local time and was 0% contained Wednesday afternoon according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

As the fire grew, Ventura County ordered evacuations for thousands of citizens, enabling them to escape the flames which would eventually destroy many of their homes. A damage report on the number of lost buildings has not been released.

Firefighters responded quickly to aid in the evacuation efforts. In some cases, the danger of fire was so imminent they were transporting citizens to safety in fire trucks, Ventura County’s Fire Captain, Trevor Johnson, told NBC News.

“Firefighters were right off the bat engaged in pulling people out of their houses and saving lives,” Johnson said.

Powerful wind conditions accelerated the fire’s spread and prevented fixed-wing aircraft from assisting the firefighters, with gusts reaching up to 85 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

“Unpredictable winds and low visibility prevented use of fixed-wing aircraft, but helicopters still came,” Brian Lewis, a weather service meteorologist, said in a statement given to NPR.

As of 11 a.m. on Thursday, the fire has grown to 14,500 acres and is still uncontained.

Local

Former Love county treasurer Lory Hull was sentenced for seven counts of embezzlement after pleading guilty on Monday.

The Attorney General viewed this case as a breach of trust between citizens and government and claims his office will right the wrong.

“This case is all the more troubling because the alleged embezzlement was at the hands of an elected official responsible for the safekeeping of taxpayer dollars,” Attorney General Genter Drummond said. “My office will zealously seek justice for the residents of Love County.”

Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

“I don’t look good in orange, and I am just so embarrassed of what the others will think,” Hull said to a state auditor official when the allegations first appeared in Aug. 2020.

Hull embezzled more than $21,000 over a period of three months by converting checks made to the Love County Treasurer for her own personal use.
Read the full indictment here.