Unplanned Geoengineering: Starlink & Co. Impact Atmosphere
More rockets launch annually, primarily Starlink satellites. Consequences for Earth's atmosphere may be more far-reaching than thought.
Start of a Falcon 9
(Image: SpaceX)
The rapidly growing number of rocket launches for the construction of Starlink & Co. "is like a small-scale, unregulated geoengineering experiment that could have many unintended and serious environmental consequences." This is according to Eloise Marais, head of an international research group that investigated the extent of air pollution caused by rockets. It found that the construction of so-called mega-constellations alone is already responsible for more than a third of the climate impact from space travel; by 2029, this is expected to be at least 42 percent. This is primarily due to the soot emitted during launches, which reaches so high into the atmosphere that it impacts the climate more than 500 times stronger than soot from vehicles and power plants.
Consequences completely unclear
As the University College London summarizes, the group found that rocket launches for the construction of Starlink & Co. already consume more than half of all rocket fuel used. This share is expected to grow further. External observers have also noted that the number of annual rocket launches has tripled between 2020 and 2025, driven almost exclusively by SpaceX and its Falcon 9. The consequences for Earth's atmosphere are only slowly becoming clearer. By 2029, they could be as far-reaching as proposed geoengineering, i.e., technical measures to combat climate change. However, this is happening largely unregulated and without consideration of the consequences.
The kerosene-based rocket fuel used by SpaceX causes soot particles to be released into the upper atmospheric layers, explains the research team. There, it remains for years because, unlike soot from surface sources, it is not removed by precipitation. While the soot therefore affects the climate 540 times more effectively than ground-level soot, space travel is expected to emit around 870 tons of soot by 2029 – as much as all passenger vehicles in Great Britain. Consequently, this soot is expected to have a cooling effect on the global climate, but caution is still advised. The exact consequences are completely unclear, and only now is there still an opportunity to counteract if necessary.
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Geoengineering refers to large-scale technical interventions in Earth's cycles, especially in the fight against climate change. While there are repeated warnings about such projects and their associated immense risks, it is sometimes expected that geoengineering will be implemented by individual nations in the coming decades given the catastrophic consequences of global warming. Furthermore, a US startup has already begun unilaterally releasing reflective particles. The study now published in the journal Earth's Future states that the rapidly growing number of satellite launches is another form of geoengineering already being practiced, with the effect being completely unintentional.
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