Space Launches

8/9/2019 Space Launches

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Space Launches


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What a shot. Taken in 1998, this awesome image shows NASAs Lunar

Prospector spacecraft shooting into the sky above Cape Canaveral,riding an Athena II rocket. Destination is in sight. Captured in time

exposure, the fiery launch tail forms an arch in the foreground, while the

moon, near its first quarter phase, looks on, some 250,000 miles away.

Prospector will cover the distance in about 5 days. Prepare for blast-off

as we explore stunning photos of space launches and wonder what it all

means from an environmental point of view.

The Prospector mission carried an array of instruments to map the

surface composition and other facets of the Earths only natural satellite.

The results improved our understanding of the Moons origin, evolution

and resources, yet we still managed to make our mark there in what

some might see as a slightly bungling and absurd manner. From itsorbital vantage point, just 63 miles above the Moons surface, Prospector

was deliberately crashed into a crater near the lunar south pole in a failed

attempt to detect the presence of water. Maybe it was worth a shot.


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Speaking of shots, check out the one above. Its

another stunner. According to NASAs website:Birds dont fly this high. Airplanes dont go this

fast. The Statue of Liberty weighs less. No species

other than human can even comprehend the

event. The launch of a rocket bound for spaceinspires awe and challenges description. Nice

words to accompany an even nicer image.What is

it that so challenges description? The Space

Shuttle Atlantis, lifting off to drop by on theInternational Space Station in 2001. Its a case of

blink and youll miss it with Atlantis, which is due to

be retired in 2010.


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This next humdinger depicts Atlantiss sister Space

Shuttle Endeavour as it races into space on anInternational Space Station assembly mission in

2008. The spectacle was captured from the Florida

waterfront by an amateur photographer, though he

should consider himself something of a pro aftertaking this shot. More a pillar of smoke than a fiery

arc, the glow amidst the encroaching darkness and

almost tornado-like formation of the plume are

nonetheless tremendously beautiful. You wonderwhether the reason these photos are so striking is

that the spacecraft themselves arent in them.


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Well lets see. Here we see a picture of Endeavour

from a different angle as it rockets into the night sky

on the same record-breaking 16-day mission todeliver the first part of the Japans Kibo lab and a

Canadian robotic arm to the Space Station. Is the

launch less aesthetically pleasing now? Perhaps

were on the wrong track here; perhaps what mattersis less the visible beauty of the launch than the

sublime fact that spaceflight is advancing the

knowledge of humankind. Even so, a glance at

those exhaust fumes does raise the question of howmuch space launches are detrimental to the

environment. So what is the price of this greater

good?


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Apparently, the amount of shuttle fuel consumed in

one of these launches is equivalent to just twominutes of gasoline consumption in the US in a

day. The exhaust gas of the main engines is

furthermore made up of water vapour and so does

not harm the atmosphere. There are still carbonemissions to consider, and the solid fuel

propellants used produce clouds that could impact

on the local environment. Still, many other human

activities have such effects and that plume is notas damaging as people might suspect.


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Shuttle launches undoubtedly affect the environment,

both directly with their emissions and indirectly

through the energy expenditure of manufacturingpropellants and parts. However, this pales in

comparison with the amount of pollution caused

around the clock by air travel. Whats more, each

launch is part of the bigger picture that is spaceexploration, the long-term benefits of which may far

outweigh its costs as we overcrowd our small planet.

We leave you with a shot of the soon-to-be defunct

Space Shuttle Atlantis launching at sunset, theshadow of its plume, cast across the sky, intersecting

with the rising full moon.

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Space Launches