The environmental impact of space propulsion has been analyzed from a wide variety of viewpoints and by experts of different fields. Among all, this chapter contains a wide literature survey on the state and the perspectives of two specific topics: the interaction of combustion products with the atmosphere and the toxicity of propellants as well as of their reaction products. The chapter is organized in three main parts. The first one discusses about the potential problems caused by rocket propulsion systems to the environment. Pollution type, location of pollutant release, and respective consequences are considered. The second part analyzes the chemical propulsion technologies (solid liquid and hybrid) as pollutant sources. Finally, performance and development state of green propulsion solutions are inferred from recent publications.
Additional file 18. Table S14: Unlabeled and labeled standard analytes used in the study. Mass weight expected, retention times and m/z are obtained from CD3.3 with several database onlines. MeOH : methanol; MeOH:ACN : methanol combined with acetonitrile; ACN: acetonitrile; SPE : solid preparation extraction.
