Carbon Footprint of the US Space Shuttle?

Question

How much fuel is burnt sending the space shuttle into space. If GW has escalated over the past 40 years, has our space program had something to do with it?

Answer 1

Definately not.  In fact, spaceflight is directly responsible for helping reduce CO2 emissions. Seriously--read on!

Spacecraft-all spacecraft worldide, produce less than 1/1000 of the cO2 cars in the US produce annually. That's not counting other sources of CO2--coal power plants, aircraft, and all the CO2 produced by other countries.

In addition, the space program is CRITICAL to combating global warming. First, two of the most important technologies--solar paower and hydrogen fuel cells--were developed originally  for spaceflight.  Second, much of the research on global warming and climate change depends on the use of weather satellites and other spacecraft to study and measure the effects and changes in ways that simply cannot be done from the Earth's surface.

That, BTW--is jsut one of the benefits of space travel.  There are far too few space launches to have a significant impact on the climate--and that won't change for many, many years.  By the time it does, most spacecraft will be powered by hydrogen/oxygen rockets with the fuel manufactured by splitting water using electriccity from alternative energy production technology--so it willl never be a problem (what I jsut described is a zero-pollution system of production, if you read t carefully).

Some fo the other benefits:

>the next generation of aircraft are going to use about 20% less fuel (a far bigger savings than the total amount used by all spacecraft) due to lightweight construction made possilbe with technnology developed by NaSA.

>Much of the computer technology that we have--including much that makes the Internet and the Pc you have possible--comes from the space program.

There's a lot more.  

But consider this: as I  moted, the technology the space program has already produced has helped us CUT CO2 emissions by far more than the amount produced by spacecraft.

Answer 2

FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL

Al Gore has a house that consumes more energy than a neighborhood.

He owns a company that sells carbon credits

He justifies it by buying carbon credits from himself.

Environmentalism is a religion and like all religions fear creates a flow of money.

Environmentalists tell us that humans are a cancer on the Earth and the earth must rid itself of it

What if the Earth is now at the end of the warming cycle and headed for cooler times?

'Coldest winter in 100 years'

China battles the freezing weather that has stranded millions

Answer 3

The actual launch?  None.

The big liquid fuel rocket in the center is oxygen and hydrogen.  The two smaller solid rocket boosters are mostly aluminum and ammonium perchlorate.  Lots of other environmental issues, but not carbon.

Answer 4

Not much CO2 - its not Carbon fuel based

besides- its quite a beneficial program

If one wants to cut CO2 - look for something more wasteful and useless.

Answer 5

there is no "carbon" released - but a slew of other greenhouse gases are emitted from the space shuttle launch but all of them are very short lived in the atmosphere.