Inmarsat launches first carbon neutral rocket

Inmarsat has successfully achieved the ‘world’s first carbon neutral rocket launch’ after launching the 1-6 F2 satellite from Cape Canaveral.

The 1-6 F2 spacecraft was launched into space about the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, reaching a top speed of almost 40,000km/h before reaching space above central Africa. The satellite will now spend several months circling Earth’s in its geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometres above the equator.

The launch was certified the first ever carbon neutral by The CarbonNeutral Protocol, which is the world leading framework for carbon neutrality. However the true impact of rocket launches is relatively unknown, as they occur rarely and infrequently, and the pollutants are way higher up in the stratosphere and mesosphere which makes it harder to compare to aviation.