Would rockets and space shuttles burning through the atmosphere, also be depleting the ozone layer.?

Question

It seems since they have been sending more and more space shuttles and rockets up through the atmosphere, the hole in the ozone layer has been getting bigger. Has anyone actually checked that out?

Answer 1

I think it's more of a "little strokes fell great oaks" kind of thing and there just aren't anywhere near enough rockets in any given period to make a meaningful dent.

Answer 2

They are actually not sending more and more rockets into space now. In 1960 there were 206 rockets launched from Cape Canaveral. In 2005 there were only 9 (nine), single digit number! This is according to the table on page 27 of the book "GO for Launch, An illustrated History of Cape Canaveral" by Joel W. Powell.

Anyway, rockets have not been shown to be a cause of ozone depletion.

By the way, the shuttle is a rocket too, and counts in the total for each year. So the 9 launches in 2005 includes the one shuttle launched that year.