Invading into the space for energy, gathering information about space-related phenomena, or manifestly for tourism, we seldom realize how radically such incursions could change the face of our planet. Researchers at the Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles, California, have concluded that emissions from 1,000 private rocket launches a year – used specifically for tourism – could increase polar surface temperatures by 1 °C, and reduce polar sea ice by 5–15%.
As the private space-flight companies, such as Virgin Galactic, plan to use a hybrid rocket engine that runs on synthetic hydrocarbon and nitrous oxide, their emissions will contain more black carbon (or soot) than a traditional kerosene and oxygen engine. It will sure change global temperatures. Since there’s no rain in the stratosphere, the soot particles could “remain there for 3 to 10 years.”
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Via: NatureNews