Brown Tyler F M, Bannister Michele T, Revell Laura E
Te Kura Matū School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
J R Soc N Z. 2023 Feb 2;54(3):273-289. doi: 10.1080/03036758.2022.2152467. eCollection 2024.
The global space industry is growing rapidly, with an increasing number of annual rocket launches. Gases and particulates are emitted by rockets directly into the middle and upper atmosphere, where the protective ozone layer resides. These emissions have been shown to damage ozone - highlighting the need for proper management of the upper atmosphere environment. We summarise the emission byproducts from rocket launches and discuss their involvement in chemical and radiative processes in the stratosphere, along with potential implications for the ozone layer due to an anticipated increase in rocket launch emissions in the future. We then present a potential vision for sustainable launches, including tractable pathways for both the aerospace industry and the ozone research community. We canvass international and domestic environmental regulation to consider how existing frameworks might be applied to rocket launches. We further identify gaps in aerospace industry practice where cooperation with environmental management and atmospheric science fields could lead to best-practise outcomes.
全球航天工业正在迅速发展，每年的火箭发射数量不断增加。火箭将气体和微粒直接排放到中间层和高层大气中，而保护臭氧层就位于这两层大气中。这些排放已被证明会破坏臭氧层，这凸显了妥善管理高层大气环境的必要性。我们总结了火箭发射的排放副产品，并讨论了它们在平流层中的化学和辐射过程中的作用，以及由于未来火箭发射排放预计增加而对臭氧层产生的潜在影响。然后，我们提出了可持续发射的潜在愿景，包括航空航天工业和臭氧研究界可行的途径。我们审视了国际和国内的环境法规，以考虑现有框架如何应用于火箭发射。我们进一步确定了航空航天工业实践中的差距，在这些领域与环境管理和大气科学领域的合作可能会产生最佳实践成果。
