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Some atmospheric researchers are suggesting that rocket launches may have to be restricted in the future to avoid serious damage to the Earth’s ozone layer.
Future ozone losses from the increasing number of rocket launches could eventually exceed the damage caused by CFCs, the chemical compound banned from use in aerosols, freezers and air conditioners.
“As the rocket launch market grows, so will ozone-destroying rocket emissions,” said Darin Toohey of the University of Colorado at Boulder’s atmospheric and oceanic sciences department.
“If left unregulated, rocket launches by the year 2050 could result in more ozone destruction than was ever realized by CFCs.”
Toohey’s research, in conjunction with authors from the Aerospace Corp. and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, appeared online in the journal Astropolitics.
The Earth’s ozone layer protects life from deadly solar radiation.
Current global rocket launches deplete the ozone layer by less than 1 percent annually, Toohey said.
But as the number of launches increases with plans by some nations, including the U.S., to colonize the moon and venture to Mars, the problem could become serious, he said.
