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Is that a problem? It's a kerosene engine, there's nothing harmful in the exhaust. And if there was something in the exhaust (there isn't) it goes in the air a
by ars 3y ago
Is that a problem? It's a kerosene engine, there's nothing harmful in the exhaust.
And if there was something in the exhaust (there isn't) it goes in the air and lands on that area anyway.
- sneak 3y agoStarship runs on methane and oxygen, but same deal. They use different engines because there are no petrochemicals on Mars, but there is CO2 and H2O, so you can produce CH4 and O2 locally if you have a power source (presumably solar or RTG).
- DennisP 3y agoAlso methane burns cleaner, which helpful when you want to launch a rocket multiple times per day. Performance is pretty great too.
- panick21_ 3y agoIts cheaper too.
- 762236 3y agoWon't they have the same launch problem on Mars with their engines blasting debris everywhere? I guess a smaller gravity well means less thrust, but it still is a lot of thrust.
- grecy 3y agoSame problem on the moon. So far, there has not been public information about what they're going to do about it. A render of the moon landing Starship showed engines higher up that have been speculated to be used for landing and lunch to reduce the problem.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> Same problem on the moon You need a lot less thrust to get off the Moon’s surface. That probably puts the problem back into a familiar envelope.
- fuzzbazz 3y agoThey only plan to send the second stage to Mars [1] [1] To Mars and back diagram: https://www.spacex.com/human-spaceflight/mars/ https://www.spacex.com/human-spaceflight/mars/
- panick21_ 3y agoYes. This is an active area of research. In general they want to have a ship that is pretty resilient. On Mars your T/W ratio is gone be really good and with no atmosphere the ship will take of quickly. However this is a problem that needs more study, the are various projects on how to quickly make a functional launch pad.
- shkkmo 3y agoReleasing heated water over a certain temp can be considered a pollutant.
- ceejayoz 3y agoIt's not likely to burn perfectly, and the law treats air pollution and water pollution differently.