As space tourism grows, experts say they want more data on how it impacts the planet.
Private space travel may seem like a step into the future, but experts say there are still questions about how it will impact our future climate.
found that 400 space flights per year over 40 years would generate enough greenhouse gas emissions to cause up to 1°C more warming in the Arctic than is already projected. Toohey said black carbon has the potential to be really problematic because it reflects sunlight and could amplify warming in the upper levels of the atmosphere.
Blue Origin says the rocket taking the New Shepard capsule into space is fueled by liquid oxygen and hydrogen. The company says that during flight, the only byproduct of New Shepard’s engine combustion is water vapor with no carbon emissions. “So there's all these sort of complexities to consider in something like water vapor that sounds so innocuous.”
While researchers have begun to look into the impacts of rocket launches from private companies, it’s hard to estimate the impact on the climate without knowing how many flights there will be. Virgin Galactic has said the company hopes to launch 400 flights a year. Blue Origin and SpaceX have not indicated how many launches they hope to execute.