Scientists warn of large-scale environmental crisis due to growing number of rocket launches and burning satellites

Scientists warn that rocket launches and satellites that burn up in the atmosphere can cause a large-scale environmental crisis. After all, their number is growing every day.

Experts say that several hundred tons of old space debris evaporates in the atmosphere every year. That's why scientists are trying to understand the new threat before it's too late, Space.com reports.

The rise of the space industry

According to Statista, over the past 15 years, the number of rockets launched per year has almost tripled, and the number of satellites orbiting the planet has increased tenfold. So, over the past 10 years, the amount of space debris - old satellites and spent rocket stages - falling to Earth has doubled.

And the space industry continues to grow as applications for another 1 million satellites have been submitted to the International Telecommunications Union. Even if there are fewer permits, humble estimates suggest that by the end of this decade, the amount of space debris burning in the atmosphere annually will reach more than 3,300 tons.

Harmful effects

Scientists emphasize that most space rockets run on fossil fuels and emit soot, which absorbs heat and can increase the temperature in the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere.

Also, they produce aluminum oxides, which can also change the planet's heat balance. Research suggests that both types of emissions could destroy ozone, a gas that prevents dangerous ultraviolet (UV) radiation from reaching the Earth's surface.

A study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters in June found that the concentration of aluminum oxides in the mesosphere and stratosphere - the two layers of the atmosphere above the lowest layer, the troposphere - could increase by 650% in the coming decades due to increased re-entry of space junk.

This increase could cause "potentially significant" ozone depletion, the researchers concluded.

And a NOAA study showed that an increase in the concentration of aluminum oxides in the stratosphere could cause "significant temperature anomalies" in the stratosphere.

Scientists believe that satellite dust can also weaken the magnetic field, allowing more harmful cosmic radiation to reach the planet's surface.

Solution

Research on the impact of rocketry and satellite pollution on the atmosphere is at an early stage, experts say.

"If we don't take any action now or in the next five years, it might be too late," said Minkwan Kim, an associate professor of astronautics at the University of Southampton in the UK who is leading an international project to assess the environmental threats posed by satellite re-entries and propose solutions.

"Starting earlier would probably mean a better chance to prevent serious problems. Just like with CO2 emissions, if it happened earlier, we would have a better response to global warming," Kim emphasized.

According to him, air pollution from rockets and satellites is currently not subject to any regulations.

In the United States, the nonprofit Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) recently called on the Federal Communications Commission, which issues licenses to satellite operators, to suspend all launches of mega constellation satellites until the environmental impact of the satellites is assessed.

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