Space sustainability isn’t just about space debris: On the atmospheric impact of space launches

Elwyn Sirieys*, Chloe Gentgen, Asha Jain, Julia Milton, Olivier L. de Weck

Edited by Corey A. Stevens and Friederike M. C. Benning

Article | Aug. 29 2022

DOI: 10.38105/spr.whfig18hta

Highlights

Space launch activities generate direct emissions of combustion products into different layers of the atmosphere, inducing ozone depletion and affecting Earth’s energy balance

Scientific understanding of the implications and magnitude of this impact is insufficient, and the expected growth of the sector makes it a pressing issue

International regulation is virtually absent on this topic and local policies are scarce

The development of actionable and common life cycle sustainability metrics dedicated to launch vehicles could be beneficial to the sector

Article Summary

Throughout their life cycle, space launch vehicles impact their local and global environments on Earth and in space. Given the space industry’s projected growth, recent literature suggests that the atmospheric consequences of these activities are understudied and insufficiently addressed. Rockets uniquely emit combustion gases and particles into distinct layers of the atmosphere, inducing effects that include perturbations of ozone chemistry and of Earth’s energy balance through radiative forcing. International environmental regulations do not presently address rocket emissions and only scarce, isolated policies exist at the national level. Additional research on the impact of space launches, including new in situ measurements coupled with global atmospheric models, is required to inform policymaking and future mitigation. The development of an actionable and collaborative sustainability index for launch vehicles could serve as a basis for future regulations or incentivize the sector towards more sustainable designs by making emissions reduction a competitive advantage.

*Email: elwyn@mit.edu

Open Access

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