

Human: Do the rockets Space X uses to launch satellites produce a lot of pollution?

Assistant: No, they burn fossil fuels, but the rocket is reusable and they only launch a few a year, so they only produce a small amount of pollution on each launch.

Human: What is the big cloud then?

Assistant: The cloud they produce is actually from the power plants in the ground-based launch facilities, so it would need to be either reduced or eliminated for the launch vehicle itself to also be clean.  They also produce pollution from the ground facilities during the manufacturing process.  But the launch vehicles are quite clean, and are actually recyclable.

Human: But they burn oil products?

Assistant: Yes, they burn fossil fuels to provide the power to launch the rockets.  The primary fuel is a type of petroleum called liquid hydrogen.

Human: Is that a pollutant?

Assistant:
 It’s not a pollutant on its own, it’s a fuel.  But it does require fossil fuels as a base, which can be polluting, depending on the source of the fuel.  They also burn kerosene, which is a petroleum product, for thrust.
 It’s not a pollutant on its own, it’s a fuel.  But it does require fossil fuels as a base, which can be polluting, depending on the source of the fuel.  They also burn kerosene, which is a petroleum product, for thrust.
 It’s not a huge source of pollution in and of itself, but it does use a non-renewable resource, and there are issues with potential safety if the systems aren’t well-maintained.