Pollution and other environmental impacts have been unwelcome companions in humanity's voyage to space. They shadow all stages of the journey, from manufacturing, to launch, and even to space and other worlds, as debris may be strewn along the way to a planet, causing navigational hazards in Earth orbit and possibly contaminating the other world with chemicals and infection. Awareness of these problems has grown as a concern about global environmental problems has spread across the world.

Government Regulations

In the United States and many other nations, government regulations are the first line of defense against these problems. These regulations control manufacturing-related pollution in industries, including space-related ones, and are designed to prevent or reduce the escape of toxic chemicals into the environment and protect groundwater, the air, and the quality of life.

The regulations cover routine releases of propellant combustion products during testing, which in addition to...