Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Global atmospheric response to emissions from a proposed reusable space launch system

2016; American Geophysical Union; Volume: 5; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/2016ef000399

2328-4277

Erik J. L. Larson, R. W. Portmann, K. H. Rosenlof, D. W. Fahey, J. S. Daniel, M. N. Ross,

Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies

Abstract Modern reusable launch vehicle technology may allow high flight rate space transportation at low cost. Emissions associated with a hydrogen fueled reusable rocket system are modeled based on the launch requirements of developing a space‐based solar power system that generates present‐day global electric energy demand. Flight rates from 10 4 to 10 6 per year are simulated and sustained to a quasisteady state. For the assumed rocket engine, H 2 O and NO X are the primary emission products; this also includes NO X produced during reentry heating. For a base case of 10 5 flights per year, global stratospheric and mesospheric water vapor increase by approximately 10 and 100%, respectively. As a result, high‐latitude cloudiness increases in the lower stratosphere and near the mesopause by as much as 20%. Increased water vapor also results in global effective radiative forcing of about 0.03 W/m 2 . NO X produced during reentry exceeds meteoritic production by more than an order of magnitude, and along with in situ stratospheric emissions, results in a 0.5% loss of the globally averaged ozone column, with column losses in the polar regions exceeding 2%.