Space Activity's Climate Effects Need Measuring, Aerospace Says

Little scientific attention is being paid to how the growing cadence of rocket launches and space debris reentries is affecting the climate and atmospheric ozone, but public interest will grow as the space industry grows in prominence, said Aerospace Corp.'s Center for Space Policy and Strategy Wednesday. Basing policy decisions on the assumption such activities have little global impact "is no longer appropriate," and policymakers are going to want a comprehensive review of environmental consequences of spaceflight, it said. Space industry stakeholders should organize and fund that kind of assessment before there's unwarranted regulation, it said.