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As an interesting bit of trivia: the most prevalent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere? Water vapor.


Which doesn't mean that emitting water vapor from a rocket adds to global warming. It just adds to the rain.


True as long as you intend to fly your rocket within the troposphere, the lower ~10 miles of the atmosphere. Above that, water vapor seems to stick around a long time and is currently understood to be quite harmful[1]. This is also an issue with high-flying planes (not that flying low is better, due to the decreased efficiency). However, more research is needed[2].

[1] http://www.grida.no/publications/other/ipcc_sr/?src=/climate... (kind of old, but I think the more recent IPCC reports are in a similar vein)

[2] https://eos.org/research-spotlights/the-forgotten-water-vapo...


Wow, learn something new every day. Thanks!




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