Speaker
Description
In the context of the Eco-design/Clean Space initiative, ESA has been developing tools to quantify the environmental impacts of the space industry. It has adopted a standard approach, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), which evaluates inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts throughout the entire life cycle of products. LCA can deal successfully with most phases of space activities (R&D, infrastructure, production, assembly, in-orbit operations,...) because they are common to other industries. In contrast, like the launch, the re-entry phase is specific to the space industry with highly specialized problems. Therefore assessing the environmental impacts of re-entry is more challenging.
When an object re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it is generally subject to quasi-complete demise releasing gases and particles in the atmosphere that can impact the environment. We will describe the methodology used in an ESA-funded project (ATISPADE / ATmospheric Impact of SPAcecraft Demise, led by Varuna-UK) in assessing atmospheric impacts of re-entry demise emissions. We will present key findings on global environmental issues (e.g. ozone depletion, climate change) and highlight outstanding issues.
