This analysis reveals significant GHG emissions from launch vehicles in LEO megaconstellations, suggesting ways to mitigate environmental impacts.
Key Points
The study reveals that launch vehicle production and propellant combustion account for 72.6% of GHG emissions.
Reusable vehicles like Falcon-9 demonstrate 95.4% lower production emissions compared to non-reusable rockets.
A comprehensive open-source life cycle assessment methodology was developed for evaluating emissions from 10 launch vehicles and 15 megaconstellations.
The findings highlight the importance of design choices in reducing the environmental impacts of the space industry.