Global 3D rocket launch and re-entry air pollutant and CO2 emissions at the onset of the megaconstellation era

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Global 3D rocket launch and re-entry air pollutant and CO2 emissions at the onset of the megaconstellation era

Barker, Connor R; Marais, Eloise A; McDowell, Jonathan C; (2024) Global 3D rocket launch and re-entry air pollutant and CO2 emissions at the onset of the megaconstellation era. Scientific Data , 11 , Article 1079. 10.1038/s41597-024-03910-z. Green open access

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Abstract

Satellite megaconstellation (SMC) missions are spurring rapid growth in rocket launches and anthropogenic re-entries. These events inject pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2) in all atmospheric layers, affecting climate and stratospheric ozone. Quantification of these and other environmental impacts requires reliable inventories of emissions. We present a global, hourly, 3D, multi-year inventory of air pollutant emissions and CO2 from rocket launches and object re-entries spanning the inception and growth of SMCs (2020–2022). We use multiple reliable sources to compile information needed to build the inventory and conduct rigorous and innovative cross-checks and validations against launch livestreams and past studies. Our inventory accounts for rocket plume afterburning effects, applies object-specific ablation profiles to re-entering objects, and quantifies unablated mass of objects returning to Earth. We also identify all launches and objects associated with SMC missions, accounting for 37–41% of emissions of black carbon particles, carbon monoxide, and CO2 by 2022. The data are provided in formats for ease-of-use in atmospheric chemistry and climate models to inform regulation and space sustainability policies.

Type:	Article
Title:	Global 3D rocket launch and re-entry air pollutant and CO2 emissions at the onset of the megaconstellation era
Location:	England
Open access status:	An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI:	10.1038/s41597-024-03910-z
Publisher version:	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03910-z
Language:	English
Additional information:	This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
UCL classification:	UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Geography
URI:	https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10201566