ROCKETS AND OZONE HOLES

[Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@igc.org>]

From: Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@igc.org>

ROCKETS AND OZONE HOLES
Under Air Force contract, the Aerospace Corporation has recently 
published another study linking solid rocket launches to localized 
ozone depletion. The 31-page report is extremely technical, but the 
abstract provides lay people with a useful summary:
"The results of a detailed chemical model of the transient 
stratospheric chemistry following passage of a large solid rocket 
booster motor is described. The model is based on SURFACE CHEMKIN, 
which is a newly developed multiphase chemical kinetic model. The model 
incorporates 34 chemical species and over 100 gas phase, heterogeneous, 
and photochemical reactions. The results show that passage of a Titan 
IV-size rocket should produce an "ozone" hole 10 km in diameter at 20 
km altitude, and 28 km in diameter at 30 km altitude, lasting from a 
few hours to a day. The size and persistence of the hole are very 
sensitive to the rate of dissipation of the rocket plume, which is 
poorly understood at present."
B.B. Brady and L.R. Martin, "Modeling Solid Rocket Booster Exhaust 
Plumes in the Stratosphere with SURFACE CHEMKIN," The Aerospace 
Corporation Technology Operations, September 1, 1995 [TR-95(5231)-9], 
for the Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Materiel Command 
(SMC-TR-96-19).
Lenny Siegel