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How Much Do Rockets Pollute? Are They Bad For Our Air?

Everyday Astronaut · explainer · Watch on YouTube

Space exploration & spaceflightEnvironment, agriculture & food systemsClimate science & climate change

What it is

Everyday Astronaut's Tim Dodd runs an hour-long, data-driven analysis of what rockets actually emit and how that compares with airliners and other industries. It breaks down exhaust by propellant type, per-passenger and total emissions, and ways launches could be cleaner.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN commenters cite it whenever rocket launch pollution comes up as a rebuttal to alarm, since it shows launches are small next to other sources.

  • 6 people recommended it
  • 6 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2020, last 2023

What HN commenters said

  1. “I highly recommend to everyone who is concerned about this.”

    Data-driven look at rocket pollution.

    systemvoltage, 2021-07 · Strong recommendation · in “Richard Branson ready for today's 'extraordinary' space flight”

  2. “has a great video on the environmental impact of rockets”

    Rockets pollute less than expected but not zero.

    KuiN, 2020-06 · Recommendation · in “SpaceX Starlink is now its own ASN and present at the Seattle Internet Exchange”

  3. “Great video here about this”

    Rocket pollution is small compared to other industries.

    danpalmer, 2021-02 · Recommendation · in “Elon Musk wants clean power. But Tesla's carrying Bitcoin's dirty baggage”

  4. “I found Tim's video to be more informative than the Conversation article”

    Per-passenger CO2 estimates for Starship versus a 737.

    chrispeel, 2021-07 · Recommendation · in “Space tourism: rockets emit 100 times more CO₂ per passenger than flights”

  5. “made a great youtube video about rocket launch pollution, check that out for sure”

    Launch pollution stays small versus other industries.

    rwesterdahl, 2021-08 · Recommendation · in “Launch HN: Turion Space (YC S21) – Space debris removal and satellite servicing”

  6. “this is a good video to watch”

    Answers the question about rocket pollution.

    manuelmoreale, 2021-09 · Recommendation · in “Amazon asked FCC to reject Starlink plan because it can’t compete, SpaceX says”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: rocket pollution, spacex, co2 emissions, airliners comparison, environmental impact

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