Publication Abstracts

Tsigaridis et al. 2024

Tsigaridis, K., R. Field, S.E. Bauer, M.N. Ross, C. Maloney, G.A. Schmidt, and K.H. Rosenlof, 2024: Composition and climate impacts of increasing launches to Low Earth Orbit. In AIAA SciTech 2024 Forum, 8-12 January 2024, Orlando, FL, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, doi:10.2514/6.2024-2168.

We present simulations of an Earth system model in which launch vehicles inject gaseous and particulate combustion products into the stratosphere. We considered two plausible scenarios representative for the year 2050, one with 1000 launches per year and another with 10 times more, all of which assuming heavy lift (80 tons to low Earth orbit; LEO) launches using methane as a proxy for liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel. An industry-standard plume flowfield model was used to predict emission of gaseous species including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and water vapor. Black carbon was introduced assuming vacuum emission equal 25% of equivalent kerosene engine. The gas emissions showed marginal or insignificant changes in atmospheric composition, while the black carbon emission was found to be the most influential component. Feedbacks involve tropopause and stratospheric warming, followed by a moistening of the stratosphere via tropospheric water vapor intrusions, together with a reduction in global albedo. The fact that LNG-fueled rockets could be a concern from aerosol emissions in our simulations, despite burning more efficiently than conventional fuels, underscores the need to better understand actual black carbon emissions from rocket engines in order to accurately predict the global impacts of launch vehicles on future climate.

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BibTeX Citation

@inproceedings{ts09300n,
  author={Tsigaridis, K. and Field, R. and Bauer, S. E. and Ross, M. N. and Maloney, C. and Schmidt, G. A. and Rosenlof, K. H.},
  title={Composition and climate impacts of increasing launches to Low Earth Orbit},
  booktitle={AIAA SciTech 2024 Forum, 8-12 January 2024, Orlando, FL},
  year={2024},
  publisher={American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics},
  doi={10.2514/6.2024-2168},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - CPAPER
ID  - ts09300n
AU  - Tsigaridis, K.
AU  - Field, R.
AU  - Bauer, S. E.
AU  - Ross, M. N.
AU  - Maloney, C.
AU  - Schmidt, G. A.
AU  - Rosenlof, K. H.
PY  - 2024
TI  - Composition and climate impacts of increasing launches to Low Earth Orbit
BT  - AIAA SciTech 2024 Forum, 8-12 January 2024, Orlando, FL
DO  - 10.2514/6.2024-2168
PB  - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
ER  -

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