#spacepollution

Scientists Warn of Emissions Risks from the Surge in #Satellites With hundreds of satellites launched each year and tens of thousands more planned, scientists are increasingly concerned about an emerging problem: emissions from the fuels burned in launches and from the pollutants released when satellites and rocket stages flame out on reentry. By Jon Gertner • December 2, 2025 Excerpt: "More recently, however, scientists have become alarmed by two other potential problems: the emissions from #RocketFuels, and the emissions from satellites and #RocketStages that mostly ablate (that is, burn up) on reentry. 'Both of these processes are producing #pollutants that are being injected into just about every layer of the atmosphere,' explains Eloise Marais, an atmospheric scientist at University College London, who compiles emissions data on launches and reentries. "As Marais told me, it’s crucial to understand that #Starlink ’s satellites, as well as those of other commercial ventures, don’t stay up indefinitely. With a lifetime usefulness of about five years, they are regularly deorbited and replaced by others. The new satellite business thus has a cyclical quality: launch; deploy; deorbit; destroy. And then repeat. "The cycle suggests we are using Earth’s mesosphere and stratosphere — the layers above the surface-hugging troposphere — as an incinerator dump for space machinery. Or as Jonathan MacDowell puts it: 'We are now in this regime where we are doing something new to the atmosphere that hasn’t been done before.' MacDowell and some of his colleagues seem to agree that we don’t yet understand how — or how much — the reentries and launches will alter the air. As a result, we’re unsure what the impacts may be to Earth’s weather, climate, and (ultimately) its inhabitants." https://e360.yale.edu/features/satellite-emissions #SpaceDebris #SpacePollution #SpaceJunk #SpaceX

Ummm... There's already a problem with pollution from #SpaceDebris on #Earth. Let's not add to it, eh? #YorkSpaceSystems introduces new spacecraft platform built for #VeryLowEarthOrbit #VLEO Munis Raza Thu, September 3, 2026 "York Space Systems has introduced a new spacecraft platform purpose-built for Very Low Earth Orbit. The company describes VLEO as one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry. The Denver-based firm calls the design LX/V-CLASS, adapted from its existing S-CLASS and LX-CLASS product lines rather than developed entirely from scratch. "Customers use a spacecraft platform as the underlying structure and subsystems onto which they integrate their own mission-specific payload, such as sensors or communications equipment. York says LX/V-CLASS extends that same approach into VLEO, broadening the range of missions the company can support for both commercial and government customers. "Very Low Earth Orbit sits at altitudes low enough that atmospheric drag naturally clears debris from the surrounding environment. That differs from higher orbits, where defunct hardware can linger for years. That same drag creates real engineering challenges. Spacecraft flying there must actively maintain their orbit and attitude far more aggressively than they would elsewhere." Read more: https://tech.yahoo.com/science/articles/york-space-systems-introduces-spacecraft-101300072.html #SpaceDebris #Satellites #SpacePollution #HeavyMetals #LithiumPollution