Space launches could be capped to save ozone layer American researchers have warned that space rockets could do more damage to the ozone layer than old-school spray-cans and fridges. "As the rocket launch market grows, so will ozone-destroying rocket emissions," said Professor Darin Toohey, atmosphere and ocean scientist at Colorado Uni. "If left unregulated, rocket launches …
And in other news, the No Shit department at the University of Wasted Funding, Idaho reported that the north Atlantic ocean does indeed contain detectable quantities of sodium.
This and not much more will be used as irreproachable justification to cease rocketeering. If this was replaced with cannon based launch systems I wouldn't mind, but its just not going to happen.
The exhaust of the shuttles main engines is water and the exhaust composition of the solid rocket boosters (ammonium perchlorate composite propellant) is water, carbon dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and aluminum oxide. Now apart from the hydrochloric acid rain from the hydrogen chloride everything else is pretty tame from an ozone perspective. Its a shame NASA canceled the liquid fly back booster in the late 90's which would have replaced the solid rocket boosters with 4 F-1 engines from the Saturn V fueled by hydrogen and oxygen then the Shuttle could have been the ultimate lean green space machine!
Nasa Director to team of bureaucrats: How do we make our overly expensive, bureaucracy fueled space launches economically competitive?
'Aha' says the beancounter 'We make launches a really scarce commodity.'
'How do we do that?' says our noble Director.
'Ah, we drum up a report into rockets and global warming/ Ozone Layer/ economic downturn and get the government to restrict space launches. We then offer to come up with a solution - no private sector launches, all goes through NASA, and American businesses must use NASA - we can then charge as much as we like - we have a monopoly - keeping bureaucrats in jobs and kick-backs' says the beancounter putting down his copy of 'Dummies guide to Monopolies' by Bill Gates.
'Genius... I'll get on it...' says the director as he reaches for his diamond encrusted Nokia.....
"F-1 engines from the Saturn V fueled by hydrogen and oxygen"
Those are oxygen-kerosene actually... Which is really common for launch vehicles.
@Vested interests
NASA doesn't actually sell launch services. They used to sell it with the Space Shuttle program, but after Challenger they decided that a manned launch vehicle was superfluous risk, and stopped.
Nuclear power + big electromagnetic catapult (few hundred kilometers long maybe, so as not to kill human cargo with excessive G forces) = problem solved. Ten trillion U.S. dollars ought to do it.
Fuck the space elevator idea. Way too cheap to implement once the materials exist, no government will go for it. Pork, pork, pork.
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