Making Space Sustainable w/ Daniel Bock from Morpheus Space

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we look at Making Space Sustainable, talking with Daniel Bock from Morpheus Space. We’ll be looking at how we can move into the inner solar system while protecting the environments of Earth, the Moon, and Mars, as well as the future of space travel.The first and most obvious way to improve the sustainability of spaceflight is through the use of reusable boosters, and the development of greener fuel alternatives. Biofuels, for example, emit fewer harmful particles into the atmosphere and are an important step towards reducing carbon emissions during launch.Lifting off from Earth takes nearly all the fuel in a rocket, and most systems today shed empty fuel tanks and boosters once they pass beyond our planetary atmosphere.Listen to the podcast version of this episode here, or watch it as a video!This process can also shed smaller debris, potentially posing future hazards. There are currently 27,000 pieces of spaceborne flotsam larger than a softball being tracked in orbit around the Earth, and there could be 100 million such pieces larger than a millimeter in diameter whizzing around our world.[Well, that’s a whole lot of space junk now, isn’t it?] {sure is!}Being hit by a screw is one thing. Being hit by a screw flying at 10 kilometers a second is an entirely different issue.  Minimizing waste released into space is a priority, keeping low-Earth orbit as clear as possible for spaceflight.Apple co-founder and pioneer of the personal computer revolution, Steve Wozniak, recently founded Privateer Space, focused on clearing potentially-hazardous debris from low-Earth orbit.[WOOOOZZZZZZZZZZ!!!] {Yeah, He’s cool.}The Orbex Prime rocket is designed to be one of the most environmentally-friendly launch systems ever designed. This two-stage rocket is 19 meters tall… I’ll save you the math. That’s……8.6 Peter Mayhews standing on top of each other. [RrRRrrRR] You’re welcome!Powered by a 3D-printed propane-fueled engine, this green booster is reusable, produces 96% fewer emissions than comparable boosters, and the system leaves no debris in orbit. [