0191 -9067/82/030195-27$03.00/0 1982 SUN SAT Energy Council THE SATELLITE POWER SYSTEM: ASSESSMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE COMPOSITION AND ON CLIMATE R. C. WHITTEN, W. J. BORUCKI, C. PARK, L. PFISTER, and H. T. WOODWARD Ames Research Center, NASA Moffett Field, California 94035, USA R. P. TURCO R&D Associates Marina del Rey, California L. A. CAPONE and C. A. RIEGEL San Jose State University San Jose, California T. KROPP Informatics, Inc. Palo Alto, California Abstract — The heavy-lift launch vehicles (HLLVs) proposed for use in constructing a satellite power system (SPS) would deposit various contaminants in the middle atmosphere, contaminants that could have adverse effects on upper air structure and climate. These contaminants consist primarily of water vapor, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and traces of sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide. Large quantities of nitric oxide are also formed during reentry. To assess the effects of such effluents, we constructed new models or modified existing models of the upper atmosphere: a one-dimensional and a two-dimensional photochemical model, a rocket plume model, and a reentry model. All are described here. Using an SPS scenario of 400 launches per year for 10 years, our calculations lead to the following conclusions: (1] the buildup of water vapor, nitric oxide,-CO2, CO, or sulfur dioxide, including a possible “corridor” effect (zonal enhancement centered on the launch latitude) is not likely to be significant; [2] ozone perturbations should not be significant — the ozone total column density decreases would probably be less than 0.1%; [3] although significant perturbations of odd-hydrogen (H, OH, HO2) are not predicted for the stratosphere and mesosphere, thermospheric hydrogen could be doubled in concentration; and [4] with respect to climate, none of the SPS-induced changes mentioned would lead to measurable changes in climate. 1. INTRODUCTION Heavy-lift launch vehicles (HLLVs), which have been proposed for use in the construction of satellite power systems, would be about 2 to 5 times as large as a Space Shuttle (1). Because of the large projected launch frequency (400 per year), modifi-
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