While the world has been riveted on a virus, and concern about radiation has been focused on five-gee on the ground, the assault on the heavens has reached astronomical proportions. During the past two years, the number of satellites circling the earth has increased from 2,000 to 4,800, and a flood of new projects has brought the number of operating, approved, and proposed satellites to at least 441,449. And that number only includes low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites that will reside in the ionosphere.
In a 2020 paper titled “The environmental impact of emissions from space launches:
A comprehensive review,” Jessica Dallas and her colleagues at the University of New
South Wales wrote that “ozone depletion is one of the largest environmental
concerns surrounding rocket launches from Earth.”
I accept that the “science isn’t settled” on five-gee, but my personal research suggests this is a scandal that will be far wose than smoking as there is no choice.
