Has anyone looked at NASA operations and done an envronmental impact study?

Question

I once read that the exhaust from the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster will blister the paint on your car if it settles there. What is it doing to the ozone layer and/or the eco-system around the launch site?

Answer 1

The exhaust from the space shuttle is full of pollutants and is damaging to the ozone layer. Fortunately, they are launched only rarely. Of much greater concern is the impact of the thousands of airline flights every day. They also release high amounts of damaging chemicals, and the fact that they do it high in the atmosphere compounds the effect.

Answer 2

Short answer- Yes.

NASA prepared Environmental Impact Statements for the Space Shuttle program (known by NASA as "STS" for Space Transportation System) back in the 1970s and 1980s (see refs below).

Wikipedia says this about the solid rocket booster fuel:
The propellant mixture in each SRB motor consists of ammonium perchlorate (oxidizer, 69.6% by weight), aluminum (fuel, 16%), iron oxide (a catalyst, 0.4%), a polymer (such as PBAN or HTPB, a binder that holds the mixture together, also acting as secondary fuel, 12.04%), and an epoxy curing agent (1.96%). This propellant is commonly referred to as Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant, or simply APCP.

The Space Shuttle emits exhaust materials into the atmosphere during a launch including large quantities of hydrogen chloride (HCl) and aluminum oxides.

I would say that parking your car in a area where space shuttle exhuast could land on it would not be a smart idea.

Space shuttle launches and other rocket launches *do* inject pollutants into the atmosphere, including ozone depleting substances. But these launches are relatively rare.

Unlike the past environmental studies of space shuttle operations, the *next* EIS that NASA prepares on the replacement for the shuttle should have a lot more consideration of atmospheric impacts, ozone depletion, and emissions of greenhouse gases. Watch for it !

Answer 3

They have to. It's the law. The National Environmental Policy Act.

If you want to see it you can get it from NASA, but it's probably hundreds of pages long.

Answer 4

The cape looks very green to me. What have u Sean that makes it bad?? If u have facts then state what the facts are.

Answer 5

have to break a few eggs to make omelettes
Ask Lester E.Brown he got a lot of information from satelites and he is here on Answers

Answer 6

Please read the attached and relax.