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TL;DR: They're launching from Vandenberg for cost-savings; they're using a larger-than-usual rocket, so they have power to spare, so they can reduce the load on
by HorizonXP 8y ago
TL;DR: They're launching from Vandenberg for cost-savings; they're using a larger-than-usual rocket, so they have power to spare, so they can reduce the load on Florida.
I haven't been keeping up with Mars missions lately, so this was the first time I'd heard of the InSight mission. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are using the Mars Phoenix Lander as the base for this mission. I played an extremely small role in that mission as a co-op student back in 2005. One of my most memorable experiences, and I'm especially pleased to see it having a continual impact all of these years later.
- toomuchtodo 8y agoWhat a time to be alive that we’re shifting launch locations because we’re launching so frequently. May the cadence continue!
- ams6110 8y agoWhat's the carbon footprint of a rocket launch? The liquid H2/O2 fuel should be neutral but what about solid or other propellant?
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- Hextinium 8y agoA Falcon 9 produces about 149 metric tons of carbon dioxide from launch. The US produced about 9.5 metric tons a second. In 16 seconds the US has produced the same amount of carbon as a Falcon 9 launch. I don't think that is terribly significant
- Jabbles 8y agoI think you're off by an order of magnitude: https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indica... ~5 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year ~158 tons per second
- maxerickson 8y agoHydrogen is mostly produced by stripping it off of hydrocarbons; it's not really a carbon neutral fuel. It could be, but it mostly isn't.
- thaumasiotes 8y agoAssuming you make your hydrogen purely by electrolyzing water, you still need a power source to do that. Unless your power source is carbon neutral, it doesn't make sense to say the hydrogen is.
- briandear 8y agoWhy do we care? That’s like being concerned about wood being used to build ships in the 15th century. The carbon footprint of all of the private jets that flew to the Paris Climate talks dwarfs anything put out by a rocket, yet were people interested in emissions suggesting WebEx instead?
- dredmorbius 8y agoWood consumption for shipbuilding, inclusive of charcoal for iron and brass manufacture, was actually a consideerable concern at the time.
- baud147258 8y agoIt was a concern because of the availability of ressources, not because of ecological concerns.
- dredmorbius 8y agoOddly, those two are not unrelated. Also: it was, as you note, a concern. That being my point.
- mikeash 8y agoI don’t think either rockets or private jets are worth fretting about when it comes to climate change, but I’ve seen a lot of people suggest that flying to compare conferences is hypocritical and everyone should just videoconference over the internet instead.