10. Are space trips polluting the oceans and the environment with space debris? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

The two components that help propel the Shuttle into orbit are the external tank (ET) and the solid rocket boosters (SRB). The external fuel tank is the only part of the Space Shuttle configuration not reused. Approximately eight and a half minutes into the flight, the external tank is jettisoned, with the majority of it disintegrating in the atmosphere and the rest falling into the ocean. The tank is utilized in providing liquid hydrogen and oxygen to the Shuttle main engines. The solid rocket boosters are recovered and refurbished for the next Shuttle launch. So there is some space debris that falls back to Earth but it harmlessly falls into the oceans and does no damage to the environment.

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Answer provided by Russell Romanella & George Veaudry

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer

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