two ways to ask this, is nasa polluting the universe by sending massive filled gas rockets into space, and it may be indirect abuse but it none the less is happening, (not expert) feel free to think about this , i'll look it up. the simplest way yet not acheived so far is solar rockets, and lunar powered. hope this question finds someone who has a great response.
2007-09-17 05:24:32 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
A few years ago, I was privileged enough to witness a Shuttle launch from the Visitors area inside Cape Canaveral. After the launch, someone exclaimed something like "Look at all that pollution!" after seeing all the Smoke/steam around the pad. . . A NASA official overheard it, and quickly commented that the emissions generated by the cars of the people driving to the visitor center that day were far greater that what the shuttle just had just generated.
2007-09-17 05:35:33 · answer #1 · answered by RationalThinker 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There is pollution of space but it is not what you are thinking. Rocket exhaust is not pollution in space. Debris is the pollution being put in space. Dead satellites. Empty rocket stages. Small parts of exploded rockets or parts that fall off or are ejected on purpose from rockets. Things that on Earth would be considered trash or litter are considered pollution in space. If they stay in space, these things are like artificial meteoroids and are a hazard if they hit an operating space craft because of the incredibly high speed of these things they are more powerful than bullets.
The exhaust gasses of the rockets are not pollution at all; not in space. Any gas quickly diffuses to basically zero density and just becomes part of the natural space environment, like the solar wind or whatever. Space is just different that way.
2007-09-17 06:07:22 · answer #2 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
", is nasa polluting the universe by sending massive filled gas rockets into space"
Yeah, it is called space junk. The only effect it has is if any ever hits any of our satelittes or other spacecraft. Other than that it isn't like we are killing nature or ourselves with space junk.
"the simplest way yet not acheived so far is solar rockets"
Actually, that is far from simple and pretty much impossible. You can not collect and store enough solar energy to put a rocket into space. It is impossible given current or even predicted technology.
"lunar powered"
Lunar power does not exist (there is no such thing).
2007-09-17 05:43:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
No.
There were 68 orbital rocket launches last year worldwide. 18 were from the United States. The main fuels used are either oxygen and hydrogen--which has water as an exhaust, or some variation of oxygen and a hydrocarbon (the exhaust is equivalent to a jet airplane.
Even the Shuttle--the largest system in operation--uses about 3.7 million pounds of propellant. About equivelant to a half dozen transcontental jet flights--and there were 3 Shuttle flights last year.
In space fuel use is irrelevant--there's nothing there to pollute.
2007-09-17 06:08:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rockets are powered by liquid gas Iike Hydrogen and Oxygen which already exist in the space medium ergo no pollution, just space junk from spent rocket stages dead satellites etc.
2007-09-17 16:08:00 · answer #5 · answered by kwilfort 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
SHUTTLE
The shuttle's main engines burn oxygen and hydrogen. The resultant of this is water. No pollution.
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. This mixture develops a specific impulse of 242 seconds at sea level or 268 seconds in a vacuum.
The SRB fuel is used within four minutes of ignition. At this point the shuttle is still in the upper atmosphere. So.......technically, none of the fuel that's used beyond the Earth's atmosphere will pollute.
2007-09-17 05:45:41 · answer #6 · answered by brewer_engineer 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the gas rockets-are out of gas as you call it--before they get to space--also space--is so empty--that there is on way--humans could have any affect on space--i think maybe you been listening to Al Gore to much--and humans are a speck of none importance when it comes to polluting anything-anywhere--check out this site--this well be non-polluting--http://www.baeinstitute.com/pr1.html
2007-09-17 05:39:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋