U.N. Kills Any Plans to Use Mercury as a Rocket Propellant
spectrum.ieee.org
Space startup Apollo Fusion might have contaminated the upper atmosphere with the toxic metal

UN banned Apollo Fusion’s business model of using mercury rocket propellant to launch satellites into space::Startup Apollo Fusion was building thrusters that could have contaminated the upper atmosphere with the toxic metal

  • @SomeoneSomewhereEnglish
    18•6 months ago

    There’s been various desktop-grade plans regarding use of nuclear rockets, both in the atmosphere and not. Never underestimate what engineers can come up with.

    I think what they were trying to argue is that the mercury emitted would be no worse than the mercury already emitted as a byproduct of power plants.

    Most rocket operators/manufacturers run on razor thin margins or at a loss, sustained by state subsidies or wishful venture capitalists.

    • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏English
      7•6 months ago

      I completely forgot about coal power plants 🤦‍♂️ now it makes sense as to why mercury was even considered a viable rocket fuel.

      Very interesting, thanks for the info!