Yes, there is a new chapter to add to the space race, and it’s hotting up – literally. But this time it is not a race to get to mars first but who has become a bigger nuisance right here on earth. Two of the wealthiest proposed rocket builders in the US Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin and Elon Musk of SpaceX have been fighting over pollution of the environment by their rockets.
Rockets, Rockets Everywhere
A recent report shows blue origin, a space company owned by the world’s richest man Jeff Bezos filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). They are blaming Starship rockets of SpaceX claiming that these launches are escalating affairs in the wrong ways. It is like living near a volcano; that seems to blow at some interval, the same way Blue Origin feels everytime it witnesses a Starship launch at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Environmental Concerns
Bezos’s team is warning everyone of the possible risks SpaceX’s rockets pose to the environment. They have requested the FAA to restrict the frequency of the Starship Super Heavy (ss-sh) boosters and rocket projects in Florida. It can be imagined that these colossal rockets with super heavy boosters could pose as the largest menace to environment at Kennedy Space Center.
The company mentioned in their motion for official complaint that the Starship might be the most environmentally disruptive launch system compared to other existing systems. He said local people are concerned about air pollution with dangerous chemicals, noise, vibration and even road closures that affect nearby towns. It is like having a huge monster saying that it is unhappy and everyone can just feel the ground shake.
These include literally shocking incidents about explosions and debris that are oh my!
Among all such concerns, one of the most frightening is the chance of explosion or some sort of debris falling from above. Can you recall when a physicist stated that a launch of a Starship in 2023 is akin to volcanic eruption in terms of heat and pressure? Well, now, let us think about living under that! Some of the impacts raised to prominence include one where some debris such as soil and sand were reported to have fallen on a nearby town during one of these launches. Yikes!
Despite such hazards, Blue Origin wants the FAA to take these risks seriously. They are requesting less launches and more launch facilities so the effects are distributed out; and, the exhaust inspection of the environmental conditioning tests at SpaceX’s, Texas site. Imagine requesting for a watchman service but in this case; it is on a cosmic level.
The Starship Beast
Currently, the Starship system remains on the development stage, however, it has already made its influence felt. The Starship is a spaceship, while the Super Heavy booster; together when fully functional, Musk claims the system is capable of launching not less than 44 times annually. It is quite a lot of fire and fury being produced and emitted to the skies.
That makes this rocket a real heavy-hitter, thanks to its behemoth fuel load, a total of 5,200 MTs of liquid methane, to be exact. That’s enough to satisfy the BBQ cookers of a small town for the rest of his lifetime! However, with this much fuel, there comes other negatives in the environmental perspective.
