Op-ed | Time to clear the air about launch pollution

With global launches on the rise, we need an objective basis for discussing rocket emissions

by Liz PillowJuly 3, 2018January 23, 2023

This image from the ISS shows strong tropospheric storm clouds pushing up against and being blocked at the tropopause, illustrating the decoupled and isolated nature of the stratosphere from the troposphere below. This relative isolation allows rocket emissions to accumulate in the stratosphere.

Combustion emissions from launch vehicles present the space industry with a concern comparable to orbital debris that we can begin to address now, before it grows and becomes a potential impediment to space access.

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