Sustainability Challenges of the Space Industry and the Role of Life Cycle Assessment

The space industry has grown rapidly over the past decade with launches now as frequent as every other day, and as many as 100,000 satellites predicted to be in orbit by 2030. With this, the environmental impact of spacecraft manufacture and launch will continue to rise, and previously overlooked sustainability concerns, including contributions to climate change, become increasingly pressing. A first step to address this must include a holistic understanding of space mission environmental impacts; hence quantifying methods, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), will be important for the future of the industry. Space missions produce unique concerns such as launch emissions to the upper atmosphere and the use of materials not typically covered in standard LCA databases. This has led to the development of space-specific LCA methods such as the Strathclyde Space Systems Database (SSSD). This paper reviews current concerns for sustainability of space missions in both the terrestrial and orbital environments, including carbon emissions, light and radio pollution, ecological impact, in-orbit collisions, and orbit capacity, and considers solutions such as LCA methods in terms of their suitability for use in the space industry. Following the review, it is concluded that LCA is suitable tool for space missions. However, further development is required to encompass all aspects of space sustainability. It is proposed that a holistic method of quantifying impact could be achieved through additional Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) modules, or through metrics such as the Space Sustainability Rating (SSR). These quantifiers can be used for reporting, and to incentivise industry change alongside the use of regulation.