Europe's Ariane 5 uses solid rocket boosters to get off the ground. (Image credit: Arianespace)

The environmental impact of rocket launches: The ‘dirty’ and the ‘green’

By Tereza Pultarova, Published by Space.com, 28 October 2021 If the environment was your priority, which rocket would you choose? When it comes to their environmental impacts, not all rocket fuels are equal. Which are the industry's 'dirty secrets' and which technologies might satisfy even Greta Thunberg?  Here's a look

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The U.K. rocket startup Skyrora tested its Skylark Micro suborbital rocket last year. In the future, the company's rockets will be powered by a renewable fuel made from non-recyclable plastics. (Image credit: Skyrora)

Can biofuels make spaceflight greener? UK space startups reveal plans for cleaner rocket launches

By Tereza Pultarova, Published by Space.com, 25 October 2021 Biofuels tested by two British rocket start-ups seem to produce much fewer dangerous soot particles. Rocket launches can inject huge amounts of soot into higher layers of Earth's atmosphere, depending on their fuel, possibly contributing to climate change. A pair of

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DARPA believes that nuclear-powered propulsion could enable rapid maneuver in space — a capability that is difficult to achieve with current electric and chemical propulsion systems. (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)

Pentagon taps industry for nuclear-powered propulsion for its satellites

By Nathan Strout, Published by C4ISRNET, 10 September 2021 WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense is looking to industry for nuclear-powered propulsion technology to drive its spacecraft, freeing them from the low-energy limitations of current electric and solar-based propulsion systems. Those traditional systems have largely served government space systems well.

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