Know What's Happening in Aerospace

The Stratospheric Toll of the Megaconstellation Era

The rapid expansion of low‑Earth‑orbit megaconstellations is creating a hidden climate threat. A University College London study finds rockets deposit black‑carbon soot directly into the stratosphere, where it lingers for about three years and traps heat 540 times more efficiently than surface emissions. Combined with the aluminum oxide released when thousands of satellites burn up, the industry could inject over 870 tonnes of stratospheric soot each year by the decade’s end—roughly the United Kingdom’s total annual CO₂ output. This unregulated pollution mirrors an accidental geo‑engineering experiment, jeopardizing both climate and ozone recovery.