"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enspace travel has changed a lot in the past few years in the 1960s we were racing the Russians to the moon now we have billionaire entrepreneurs racing to send their friends into space heck Elon Musk even sent a freaking Tesla out there these ventures are all possible because of the resources of the rich but what about the planet's resources we looked into the effects that these launches have on the planet and oh boy houston we do have a problem you're watching the deeds a show where we demystified the technologies that are shaping the future I'm your host Riley Wynn NASA will soon allow tourists to visit the International Space Station and companies will begin offering private space flights charging millions of dollars for the privilege this could be an effective way to raise money for the high cost of space exploration but experts say that allowing a few rich tourists to blast off into space could cause long-term damage to the earth the effects of rocket launches on the environment have been researched only minimally but we do know enough to be concerned about their impact it's not just about carbon an uptick in launches can also cause long-term damage to the ozone layer the chemicals burned by Rockets work together in the upper atmosphere and they could eventually deplete up to one percent of the ozone layer rockets today are becoming more fuel-efficient but it still takes a tremendous amount of energy to shoot them into space for example each Falcon 9 launch produces a hundred and 50 metric tons of carbon which would add up to a total of four thousand metric tons per year if SpaceX achieves its goal of launching every two weeks that means every rocket launch produces 150 times more carbon dioxide than a transatlantic flight the bigger problem with rocket launches is the damage done to the atmosphere itself as a rocket moves through the upper atmosphere burning kerosene as it goes it deposits chemicals including chlorine into the air around it chlorine destroys the ozone molecules that shield the planet from the sun's rays chlorine isn't the only thing damaging the ozone layer burning rocket fuel also creates black carbon aka so it also creates aluminum oxide the soot particles form a black umbrella which absorbs sunlight and heats up the air around it the aluminum oxide particles reflect heat away together these two effects make the surface of the planet cooler which might sound like a good thing right but actually it's damaging it cools the surface of the earth at the expense of heating up the upper atmosphere a warmer upper atmosphere means the chemical reactions which deplete the ozone layer happen even faster one of the concerns about rocket mission's is the lack of research into the topic because of this lack of research we don't know exactly how fast rocket launches will deplete the ozone layer but it's unlikely to be good news current estimates show that rocket launches calls up to 0.1% and ozone loss if launches go up by a factor of 10 in the next few decades as governments and companies launch more satellites we could wipe out one percent of the entire ozone layer this threat to the ozone layer is specific to rockets and could undo the precious progress we made on repairing ozone layer depletion in the last 30 years depletion of the ozone layer means an increase in harmful UVB radiation which can cause skin cancer blindness as well as damage plants and marine ecosystems increased solar radiation also substantially raises the amount of carbon dioxide given off in the Arctic the number of private space flights is likely to remain very low in the next decade if only due to the insane cost but a related area that could see significant growth is suborbital tourist trips the Virgen group headed by Richard Branson has designs on being the first company to offer public trips to the edge of space through its Virgin Galactic program each individual trip could have more of an impact than your typical flight like full-on trips to space chemicals used by ships at high altitudes may have a more significant impact on the environment than those exhausted at a lower altitude in the case of space tourism to the International Space Station NASA puts the responsibility for emissions onto the companies running the trips NASA provides the destination and capabilities but the private companies responsible for the launches must work within the right regulations to achieve compliance like all businesses now space tourism operators should address emissions and all aspects of sustainability environmental activists compare the issues around private space launches to those of regular tourism in that the environmental cost apply to everyone but the benefits accrue to only a few only the most elite of the elite will ever have the chance to go to space there are potential benefits of private space missions such as instilling an interest in science and exploration but it may not be worth the harm done to the planet now environmentalists would rather focus on the steps that need to be taken to reduce climate change in all areas of life governments around the world have not focused much on regulating emissions from rocket launches as launches have historically been considered matters of national security they have typically been exempt from environmental legislation do you think NASA cared about their carbon footprint when the US was trying to beat the Soviets to the moon the only footprint they cared about was the one that they were gonna put on the moon's surface but with the increase of the number of private launches scientists are beginning to seriously consider that impact rocket emissions could have on the environment and experts in the field say that now is the time to legislate before the problem becomes more urgent we already do so many things that harm the environment do we really need to damage it more because we want to play in space let's hope the legislation is put into place to try to keep the environmental impact of space tourism really low and lastly here's an idea instead of being so eager to leave the planet in these Rockets how about we just stay grounded and take care of it better if you enjoyed this video make sure to LIKE subscribe and hit that Bell button so you get the notifications for all of our videos until next time i'm riley Wynn with Digital Trends and thanks for watchingspace travel has changed a lot in the past few years in the 1960s we were racing the Russians to the moon now we have billionaire entrepreneurs racing to send their friends into space heck Elon Musk even sent a freaking Tesla out there these ventures are all possible because of the resources of the rich but what about the planet's resources we looked into the effects that these launches have on the planet and oh boy houston we do have a problem you're watching the deeds a show where we demystified the technologies that are shaping the future I'm your host Riley Wynn NASA will soon allow tourists to visit the International Space Station and companies will begin offering private space flights charging millions of dollars for the privilege this could be an effective way to raise money for the high cost of space exploration but experts say that allowing a few rich tourists to blast off into space could cause long-term damage to the earth the effects of rocket launches on the environment have been researched only minimally but we do know enough to be concerned about their impact it's not just about carbon an uptick in launches can also cause long-term damage to the ozone layer the chemicals burned by Rockets work together in the upper atmosphere and they could eventually deplete up to one percent of the ozone layer rockets today are becoming more fuel-efficient but it still takes a tremendous amount of energy to shoot them into space for example each Falcon 9 launch produces a hundred and 50 metric tons of carbon which would add up to a total of four thousand metric tons per year if SpaceX achieves its goal of launching every two weeks that means every rocket launch produces 150 times more carbon dioxide than a transatlantic flight the bigger problem with rocket launches is the damage done to the atmosphere itself as a rocket moves through the upper atmosphere burning kerosene as it goes it deposits chemicals including chlorine into the air around it chlorine destroys the ozone molecules that shield the planet from the sun's rays chlorine isn't the only thing damaging the ozone layer burning rocket fuel also creates black carbon aka so it also creates aluminum oxide the soot particles form a black umbrella which absorbs sunlight and heats up the air around it the aluminum oxide particles reflect heat away together these two effects make the surface of the planet cooler which might sound like a good thing right but actually it's damaging it cools the surface of the earth at the expense of heating up the upper atmosphere a warmer upper atmosphere means the chemical reactions which deplete the ozone layer happen even faster one of the concerns about rocket mission's is the lack of research into the topic because of this lack of research we don't know exactly how fast rocket launches will deplete the ozone layer but it's unlikely to be good news current estimates show that rocket launches calls up to 0.1% and ozone loss if launches go up by a factor of 10 in the next few decades as governments and companies launch more satellites we could wipe out one percent of the entire ozone layer this threat to the ozone layer is specific to rockets and could undo the precious progress we made on repairing ozone layer depletion in the last 30 years depletion of the ozone layer means an increase in harmful UVB radiation which can cause skin cancer blindness as well as damage plants and marine ecosystems increased solar radiation also substantially raises the amount of carbon dioxide given off in the Arctic the number of private space flights is likely to remain very low in the next decade if only due to the insane cost but a related area that could see significant growth is suborbital tourist trips the Virgen group headed by Richard Branson has designs on being the first company to offer public trips to the edge of space through its Virgin Galactic program each individual trip could have more of an impact than your typical flight like full-on trips to space chemicals used by ships at high altitudes may have a more significant impact on the environment than those exhausted at a lower altitude in the case of space tourism to the International Space Station NASA puts the responsibility for emissions onto the companies running the trips NASA provides the destination and capabilities but the private companies responsible for the launches must work within the right regulations to achieve compliance like all businesses now space tourism operators should address emissions and all aspects of sustainability environmental activists compare the issues around private space launches to those of regular tourism in that the environmental cost apply to everyone but the benefits accrue to only a few only the most elite of the elite will ever have the chance to go to space there are potential benefits of private space missions such as instilling an interest in science and exploration but it may not be worth the harm done to the planet now environmentalists would rather focus on the steps that need to be taken to reduce climate change in all areas of life governments around the world have not focused much on regulating emissions from rocket launches as launches have historically been considered matters of national security they have typically been exempt from environmental legislation do you think NASA cared about their carbon footprint when the US was trying to beat the Soviets to the moon the only footprint they cared about was the one that they were gonna put on the moon's surface but with the increase of the number of private launches scientists are beginning to seriously consider that impact rocket emissions could have on the environment and experts in the field say that now is the time to legislate before the problem becomes more urgent we already do so many things that harm the environment do we really need to damage it more because we want to play in space let's hope the legislation is put into place to try to keep the environmental impact of space tourism really low and lastly here's an idea instead of being so eager to leave the planet in these Rockets how about we just stay grounded and take care of it better if you enjoyed this video make sure to LIKE subscribe and hit that Bell button so you get the notifications for all of our videos until next time i'm riley Wynn with Digital Trends and thanks for watching\n"